Kizuna 絆
by KingKagura
Summary: What if Tobirama and Izuna were the ones who first met at the river? What if they became friends? A story of bonds between two younger brothers. Izuna & Itama live! IzuTobi FRIENDSHIP, IzuIta, MadaTobi
1. When They First Met

**Hey, guys! So I know I already have lots of stories to work on, but I couldn't help myself with this one!**

 **I thought of this idea when I was fooling around with other ideas and now I'm hooked!**

 **I mean I already have like FIFTEEN chapters mapped out.**

 **So expect a long story~**

 **Anyways, I just want to explain the character ages right from the beginning to avoid confusion.**

 **Senju and Uchiha Siblings List:**

 **Senju: | Uchiha:**

 **Hashirama (10/23) oldest | Madara (12/24) oldest**

 **Tobirama (2/19) 2 years younger than oldest | Izuna (2/10) 2 years younger than oldest**

 **Kawarama (January) 4 years younger than oldest | Takuma (?) 3 years younger than oldest**

 **Itama (4/10) 5 years younger than oldest | Yutaka (?) twins with Hotaka - 4 years younger than oldest**

 **| Hotaka (?) twins with Yutaka - 4 years younger than oldest**

 **With that explained-**

 **Please enjoy the show!~**

* * *

Summer is a season of dreams.

The saying has always been that spring is the season of beginnings, fall is the season of death, winter is the season of rest—and summer is the season of dreams.

Summer was when they had first met—

—their dreams began to sprout that day—

—only to grow into what, in the future?

"Damn that Nii-san," A young raven-haired boy with hair that stuck out the back fumes as he strides towards his usual secret hang out—the river. 8-year-old Uchiha Izuna was frustrated at his position as the younger brother once again like usual. He swears about how he should have been the older sibling instead of Madara with his murmured threats falling on deaf ears as there was no one around besides the forest animals. "One day, I'm really going to throw him into the koi pond and see how _he_ likes kissing the fish!"

It was around the time that he was just about to exit the brush in order to enter the area around the river when he heard a loud splash—

—a splash too loud to be one made by a mere fish or even a stone.

Izuna knows what the sound of a stone crashing into water is like. In fact, he has heard it enough times to be able to distinguish what size the rock was thrown was and how hard it was thrown. It was all natural if you have an older brother who can beat you in just about everything but stone-skipping—especially if said brother is too stubborn to admit defeat and so would continue their competition until sunset even after Izuna had surrendered for the thirteenth time.

Therefore, since Izuna is capable of recognizing the sound of a stone being drowned, he knew right away that this was no ordinary occurrence. _Someone is here…?_

Using all the skills in stealth he can muster, Izuna carefully peeks into the river's perimeter to get a better look at what had created the sound. Izuna breath hitches at the sight. _So—so cool…!_

Past the brush and into the river stands a boy. He looked no older than Izuna with messy silver hair, a loose black tank top and gray hakama pants on as he holds a rather large katana in a battle stance. The boy slices through the air, his sword leaving quick arcs of silver and water droplets as the mysterious silver-haired boy practically dances on the water.

Izuna wishes for a better look—he wishes that he could just go up and touch the empirical looking floating bubbles before they fell back into the river. With this thought, Izuna inches forward unconsciously.

 **Snap!**

The dark-haired boy stepped on a twig, causing an echo which announced his presence. _Oh, snap!_ Izuna instantly begins to retreat on instinct. However, he freezes to observe the boy more out of curiosity. Crimson eyes that Izuna has only seen in the experienced ninja of his clan pierce through him from the silver-haired boy.

 _It is said that curiosity killed the cat._

The mysterious boy lowers his sword and sighs. "Whoever you are, come out."

 _But, then again, it also said that "satisfaction brought it back"._

Izuna steps out of the shadows, jumping out from the brush and into the light. The dark-haired boy nonchalantly has his hand behind his head as he saunters over to the other boy.

The mysterious boy doesn't visibly tense but Izuna's reflexes and sharp eyes catch the slight change in the boy's stance.

If it wasn't clear from the fact that the boy was balancing on the water's surface—an effort that required quite a bit of chakra control—and that he had a katana, there is only one conclusion one can make from these facts.

The boy is a ninja—and a pretty skilled one at that.

A smile plays on the raven-haired boy's lips, causing the other boy to narrow his crimson eyes at the boy in question.

Izuna jumps into the river as well, displaying his somewhat okay chakra control with how little he wobbles and how he walks as if he is walking on solid ground rather than on water despite how he trips up every so often. The silver-haired boy has a calculating glint in his eyes as Izuna makes his way over yet he seems to not be overall as cautious as Izuna had expected for someone born in the period of war.

This only made Izuna more curious.

Izuna extends a hand out to the boy, a smile on his face as he introduced himself. "I'm Izuna! What's your name?"

The silver-haired boy across from him arches an eyebrow at Izuna's behavior, definitely viewing the boy to be quite strange—not that Tobirama wasn't used to strange with his family after all.

Tobirama hadn't been actively sensing for any presences when he had been training his swordsmanship; however, the sudden snap of a twig caught his sensitive ears, causing him to instantly turn towards his chakra senses.

In that instant of concentration, the whole world turned dark as if Tobirama was looking at a white outlining of the world while the lights were turned off. Inside this world, there were various sources of light scattered all over the place. He promptly ignores those though in favor of identifying the one who has disturbed his training.

He finds it within a few seconds—a bright chakra signature in the brush just ahead of him. He had called out to the intruder, causing a young boy with dark hair to escape the bushes. The boy strolled onto the water, slowly approaching the silver-haired boy with a nonchalant demeanor. As he does, Tobirama observes the boy's chakra, letting it indicate the boy's current emotion-set.

The chakra was like a flame—no more like wind. But it was bright orange and gradient red like fire yet undeniably free and sharp like a blade—like wind—unlike fire which burns and is untameable. Tobirama eyes the boy carefully; however, the boy's emotions were quite clear to the silver-haired genius. This cause Tobirama to relax slightly.

Once the boy reached Tobirama, he extends his hand to the silver-haired boy. With a smile, he introduced himself as "Izuna" before he questions, "What's your name?"

Tobirama knows this is wrong.

He knows—they both know—what they are.

They are ninja—the two of them are ninja.

They are ninja from two different clans—possibly enemy clans—no, most likely enemy clans.

Yet the boy extends his hand to him as if expecting something and introduces himself.

It is only polite to return the favor.

Tobirama takes the warm hand of the other boy, Izuna, and shakes it. "Tobirama."

Another excited grin brightens the raven-haired boy's face as he releases Tobirama's hands in favor of clasping them together. His obsidian eyes sparkle as he leans slightly towards him. "Hey, hey!"

Tobirama raises an eyebrow at the boy with a sparkly aura. "Yes?"

"Can you teach me what you did just now?! That sort of 'whoosh'-thing and swings you did with your katana!" Izuna asks like the over-enthusiastic child he is.

Tobirama blinks his crimson eyes at the strange boy's behavior.

The boy reminded him of his older brother—bright and pure and, overall, naive.

Tobirama bites back a discreet smile as he tries to reason with the impulse growing in him.

If Tobirama taught this boy how to wield a katana this would be boosting his strength and, ultimately, if he is then pitted against his clan, he would be an even stronger opponent to defeat.

On the other hand, what if he didn't teach Izuna the sword?

What if Izuna went into the field with a sword and was unable to wield it properly?

He would end up being another child sacrifice—like all the other poor buried souls of young children that haunt the thoughts of war with their bloody and mangled bodies.

Tobirama did not want another victim of the adults' stupidity.

The silver-haired boy nods, "Sure."

At the agreement, Izuna jumps into the air. "Yes!" The raven-haired boy then snickers, "This way I can definitely beat Nii-san next time!"

"You want to learn how to wield a sword to beat your older brother?" Tobirama arches an eyebrow at the boy. He had initially thought it was for survival purposes yet here it is a boy who doesn't even think all that much about war. Izuna was really just like his older brother in sense of naivety.

"Yeah!" Izuna replies before his bright expression twists into a pout. "Nii-san and I always end up sparring for training back home since we are the two oldest siblings and he always wins!" The dark-haired boy fumes in place. It was a bit funny since his feet would suddenly sink into the water from his lack of concentration, making the boy almost fall over more than once. Izuna always seemed to be able to orientate himself again right before he actually fell into the water though. "And, whenever he wins, he always ends up dunking me into the family koi pond! _**A koi pond!**_ Do you understand how disgusting it is that you've had your first kiss with a fish rather than an actual human being?!" Izuna rants, exasperated at his older brother's antics. A fire burns as he clenches his fist and swears. "I will definitely shove him into the koi pond and see how he like it when he has to kiss a fish _himself!_ See how he likes it!"

Absolutely astonished, Tobirama blinks for a few moments, allowing Izuna to mutter out a couple more revenge plot ideas. A chuckle escapes the silver-haired boy's lips, drawing the other boy's attention back to him. "You are ridiculous." Tobirama shakes his head, amused. "I have an older brother as well—except, I'm the one who ends up beating him whenever we spar."

Izuna's obsidian eyes widen at the claim and in an instant, he is begging. "Please teach me your ways, Sensei!"

"I already said 'sure', didn't I?" Tobirama deadpans.

The raven-haired boy blinks for a second, thinking back. "Oh, yeah. You did."

"Here, first I'll show you how to do it while explaining to you the different stances, and then I'll lend you my sword so you can practice." the silver-haired boy explains as Izuna nods in response.

They spend an hour doing such—starting with Tobirama showing each stance slowly, explaining each one separately and patiently answering any questions Izuna had about them. Then the lesson shifts to Izuna practicing with Tobirama correcting his form. Izuna finds that Tobirama is a really skilled teacher—not just because of his swordsmanship skills but also because of how patient he is and how he tries to explain them in a way that Izuna can understand it. It works too—Izuna finds that Tobirama is much easier to understand than Madara, who usually too impatient for the task.

Izuna really appreciates Tobirama's serene sort of teaching style.

After the hour of teaching and practicing, Tobirama decides to call a break so Izuna can rest. Tobirama states, "In order to improve, one must know when to rest."

Therefore, the two boys relax on the stone ground of the river, enjoying the other's company as they discussed different topics. The boys discover that they have a lot more in common than they originally thought. In the first place, they both had rather idiotic brothers—the two shared their most memorable descriptions of some of their idiotic brothers' messes. Izuna laughs out loud at the stories of the hopeless older brother of Tobirama's. In turn, Tobirama shakes his head with a small smile playing on his lips from hearing about Izuna's rather hilarious brother. The two also discover that they are both the second child of their families. On Tobirama's family's side, he has three other siblings besides himself and then, on Izuna's family's side he has four siblings in total with three younger brothers and one older brother. The two end up chatting for hours before returning to training.

The next time they stop is at sunset.

Izuna feels mysteriously relaxed—he couldn't tell if it was from the satisfaction that his training was going well or the fact that he had made a new friend. _Friend…_

The raven-haired boy glances at the silver-haired boy who watches the river with his crimson orbs. _Friends, huh._ A smile smooths onto Izuna's lips. "Hey Tobirama,"

"Hmm?" Tobirama turns his silver head to the dark-haired boy, his head tilting slightly.

"We're friends right?" It was a strange question to ask—after all, Izuna had just met the silver-haired boy today. Heck! He barely knew the kid! Yet something pulls him towards Tobirama—some sort of invisible force that he can't explain.

"Idiot," A small smirk quirks up Tobirama's face. "Don't you already know the answer to that?"

 _Yeah._

 _We're friends._

"See you again, then!"

"Yeah."

The two boys turn to opposite sides, heading down their respective paths to home.

"It's a promise."

* * *

 **So, what do you think?**

 **I hope my Tobirama and Izuna weren't too OOC X(**

 **Anyways, I'm thinking of taking scenario requests for this one as well!**

 **So if you have any funny things you would want to see happen then please comment! I have a period during their teenage years that is pretty much in need of filler unless you want to skip straight to the epic plot-changing war battle.**

 **Please leave a review before you leave~**


	2. What is a 'True Pact?

**Here is chapter 2!**

 **This takes place one year later so:**

 **Hashirama and Madara are 10.**

 **Tobirama and Izuna are 9.**

 **Takuma is 8.**

 **Kawarama, Yutaka, and Hotaka are 7.**

 **Itama is 6.**

 **There's not much to say besides that I might do scenario requests, so think up some scenarios you would want to see!**

 **Besides that, not much...**

 **Anyways, enjoy!~**

* * *

After Tobirama and Izuna's first meeting at the river on that fateful summer day, the two boys often met again in between their missions. The two boys would train together—though it was mostly Tobirama teaching Izuna. They would spar and show off a couple of basic jutsu as well as hone their weaponry skills.

However, there was a silent rule behind their meetings.

Do not show the other your clan's renowned jutsus.

This rule was bound to be broken.

It did a year later when the two boys were both 9-years-old and, sadly, thoroughly entwined with the war.

It was summer yet instead of a bright sun shining in the sky, illuminating all with its bright smile, clouds cast over head covering the sun as it weeps. Its tears fall to the earth as rain.

Tobirama likes the rain.

The silver-haired boy has a strong water-affinity after all, so the rain was peaceful to him. Itama often observes that his older brother is unusually giddy whenever it rains, though Hashirama and Kawarama don't understand how he can see it. Itama knows though, he understands his second oldest brother very well. Because ever since the mix-colored hair boy was a baby, Tobirama has been taking care of him in their dead mother's and Hashirama's place. Kawarama often complains about how he had the same treatment but he couldn't seem to tell like Itama did and Itama often explains that Kawarama probably does see it but can't quite define it.

You see, what Itama meant by Tobirama being giddy isn't the same sort of giddy you would see from Hashirama, where flowers bloom in his wake. Instead, Tobirama is a bit looser—a bit more relaxed yet energized at the same time. It was quite an exhilarating feeling.

So, as there is an unusual shower on a summer day, Tobirama was in a good mood as he strolls to the river.

It's not like he expects Izuna to be there today. God forbids the boy always complained about being dumped into a koi pond and seemed to loathe the idea of getting wet when he didn't want to. _Like a cat._ Tobirama observes as he thinks about the slightly short raven-haired boy. He is pleasantly amused by his own thoughts as he walks right into the river clearing, not noticing the other figure there.

A sob is what drags Tobirama out of his thoughts. Hastily, Tobirama directs his attention to the source and his crimson eyes widen when he discovers what it is.

Izuna is crying, knees tucked into his chest as he buries his face into his legs, trying to muffle the sobs so no one could hear. Unfortunately, this effort was in vain as Tobirama had heard it and was not full of concern. Smoothly, Tobirama sits down next to Izuna's slumped figure and silently lets his presence fill the empty air.

"Tobirama…?" A strangled cry, which bordered the sound of a plea, escapes the raven-haired boy's lips. He doesn't dare raise his head though—something Tobirama notes but pushes aside with the explanation that the usually happy-go-lucky boy didn't want to lose face in front of him.

"I'm here," Tobirama assures the boy with his even and calm voice.

A silence hangs between the two friends. They let only the natural sound of rain fill their ears as the drops of water strikes through the air and hits the ground and river.

Izuna doesn't speak for what feels like hours but Tobirama knows it has only been 10 minutes. The dark-haired boy could never stay quiet for too long.

"The twins were killed last night. We buried them this morning." Izuna confesses, his voice was slightly muffled as he clung to his knees, but Tobirama had heard him. The silver-haired boy's crimson eyes widen slightly at the information. Tobirama knew how much Izuna cared about his younger siblings, the dramatic raven-haired boy often prided himself with his younger siblings' affections, which often lead to debates between the two over their younger siblings.

Tobirama has a theory. For all the knowledge he has gathered throughout the few years he could read, Tobirama was very intelligent. He has had a sinking idea—a theory that he had not ever wanted to tested—for this whole year he has known Izuna. This was the time to test his theory.

"Izuna, could you look at me?" Tobirama's voice comes out smooth despite how he feels he is shaking inside, trembling from anticipation or fear—he can't quite tell. The rain couldn't seem to calm his nerves at this moment.

Perplexed by the sudden out-of-character request, Izuna complies, lifting his head away from his knees so he could turn to gaze into Tobirama's crimson eyes.

Crimson meets crimson.

"So, I was right…" Tobirama's eyes fill with a sullen fog as he continues to stare at Izuna's crimson eyes. "I had a feeling this was the truth."

"What?" Izuna blinks, confused by his friend's words.

The silver-haired boy doesn't look away from Izuna, "You're an Uchiha, right, Izuna?"

"How—?!" Crimson orbs widen from shock. _How could Tobirama know?!_

"Look at the river." Tobirama motions towards the river.

Izuna, feeling rather confused, carefully creeps towards the river. He peers into it and gathers his appearance. He was wet but he already knew that from just his sense of touch. In addition, his eyes were red—it must have been from all the crying Izuna first reasons. However, a realization hits him, causing the raven-haired boy to gaze into his reflection once again. "T-the Sharingan…! I've awakened it…"

That explains why Tobirama had known. _Wait… didn't he say 'So I was right'?_

"Izuna," Tobirama's calm, solemn voice echoes rather mystically in the rain. Hastily, Izuna turns to his friend, Sharingan still active. "I'm a Senju."

Izuna's crimson Sharingans widen at the confession.

However, beyond that, Izuna did not react much. Instead, the raven-haired boy averts his eyes for a moment towards the river. He locks onto his Sharingan and wills the crimson to swirl back to obsidian before he reverts his gaze back to Tobirama's crimson eyes. "Yeah," A rather grim smile spreads across Izuna's lips as he chuckles, "I had a feeling that something like this would happen."

Fate was cruel—

—thank goodness Tobirama never believed in it.

"You know," Izuna exhales. "I don't really care that you're a Senju."

"Me neither," Tobirama nods his head, allowing Izuna to lean against his shoulder. "I don't mind that you are an Uchiha." The two boys sit in the rain next to the river, with the dark-haired boy leaning against the silver-haired boy. "I'm sorry about your brothers." They sit in silence with water drops sliding down their cheeks. Both were unable to distinguish which were tears.

"It's not your fault or any of the Senju's fault—it's all because of this stupid war." Izuna huffs, his voice wavering slightly in a sort of choked fashion. "If only it could just hurry up and end."

Tobirama couldn't agree more.

Especially only two weeks later when Tobirama's own little brother is made a victim of war.

Kawarama died at the age of 7, the same age Izuna's younger brothers—the twins—were when they had died just two weeks ago.

 _If only the war could just end, is right._ Tobirama can't help but cruelly think as he watches Kawarama's casket be buried under the earth with unfeeling eyes. Beside him, tears flood out of Itama's eyes as the youngest brother weeps for his older brother. On his other side, Hashirama stands, eyes wide and strained as he watches the burial, muttering out, "Kawarama…"

"Ninja do not cry!" His father, Senju Butsuma, stands tall with not even a hint of sadness or remorse in his voice or eyes. "Ninja are born in this world to fight and die in grateful that we have even a piece of his corpse! For our enemy, this time, includes the Uchiha clan in addition to the Hagoromo clan! They are particularly merciless!"

 _"Merciless"?_ Tobirama chuckles in his mind as the image of Izuna pops up. _No—that is an illusion war makes us see. They are the same as us—they are ninja._

 _We are forced to fight for a cause that no one knows anymore—it being so ancient that it may not even matter any longer._

 _How stupid._

"Kawarama was just 7-years-old!" Hashirama shouts, full of rage. "How long—how long will this kind of fighting continue?!"

 _Yes, how much longer will this last?_

"Until the very last foe has been vanquished." Butsuma answer, resolutely.

 _And if there is no foe?_

"The road to a battle-free world is not easily made!" Butsuma declares.

 _How foolish. How would you know? You haven't ever tried._

Hashirama's mutters darkly, "And children must be sacrificed?"

Tobirama sees the reaction before it comes. Their father glares at the bowl-haircut brunette before punching his cheek. The silver-haired boy quickly reacts to his brother's falling figure, catching him mid-fall, Itama following behind him. "I will not allow Kawarama to be disrespected! He fought and died as a full-fledged ninja! He was not a child!"

 _But he was a child. But you never knew that, did you? Where were you when Hashirama and I were taking care of Kawarama and Itama after mother died?_

Hashirama winces as he raises a hand to cover his struck cheek before he brings his resolute brown eyes to glare at their father. Tobirama wants to rush to his brother right away but he resisted under their father's presence, not wanting to further anger the man and complicating things even more. Once Butsuma leaves, the silver-haired boy and half-silver and brown haired boy rush to Hashirama.

Itama's soft brown eyes gaze at his older brother full of concern. "Hashirama-Anija, are you okay?"

Meanwhile, Tobirama's crimson eyes were muddled with both exasperation and worry. "You know what happens when we defy Father." Tobirama narrows his crimson eyes. _If only the adults would listen. If only they would just stop this meaningless war already… then this wouldn't happen._

 _I don't want Itama or Hashirama to fall victim to this endless cycle of hate!_

Hashirama's furrowed eyebrows twitch like crazy as rage build inside him. _As I thought I don't want either of you, Itama... Tobirama… I don't want either of you to die in vain!_ The brunette boy stands up, determined as he puffs his chest, gathering air before releasing it all in a shout. "What 'Senju, the clan of love'?! As if!"

Tobirama's eyes widen. _No—Anija, you can't—! If you do—_

"A full-fledged ninja—my butt!" Hashirama continues to holler. "All of this is just grown-ups driving kids to their deaths! We're doing the exact same thing as the Uchiha clan!"

"That's how we honor our opponents." Butsuma retorts, "Even an infant wielding a weapon is deemed an enemy. And to raise one's child to full-fledged is a parent's love!"

"So in order to become full-fledged you have to die?!" growls Hashirama, "We kill and are killed so much, you can't even keep track of all the grudges! And it's too risky to even divulge our family names! There's something totally wrong about a ninja world like this!"

Infuriated, their father raises his fist. "Children like you are called 'brats'!" Itama releases a strained cry as Tobirama's crimson eyes quickly switch between his older brother and his father. The silver-haired boy had to react fast.

Tobirama jumps in between his father's fist and Hashirama, spreading his arms out defensively. "Father!" Calmly, Tobirama feeds his father a believable excuse as Butsuma pauses mid-punch. "Today, Anija isn't feeling well, so please forgive him." Crimson eyes stare up at brown orbs in a silent battle.

Butsuma let them go, leaving with the last word. "Hashirama, go and cool your head."

Tobirama's crimson eyes pierce his father's back for a few minutes before he turns back to Hashirama.

The three brothers retreat to a giant tree stump a bit away from the burial site. Hashirama sits in the center with his legs crossed and a contemplative expression. Izuna sits on the edge of the stump his feet kicking in the air every so often. Tobirama stands beside his older brother with his arms crossed.

"Grown-ups are stupid." The silver-haired boy states. "If they want to stop the fighting, they should make a pact."

Itama tilts his head towards his second oldest brother. "But… what about avenging our parents and brothers…and all are friends that were killed?"

"Keep saying stuff like that and you'll end up dead too." Tobirama scolds Itama. "If we want to move on and end this war we need to push our emotions aside. This way we can end the whole cycle and bring upon a revolution. So, don't be so hot-headed."

"Sorry…" Itama apologizes.

"Forthcoming ninja should suppress their emotions, create suitable rules that they then follow and avoid extraneous conflict," Tobirama explains, bringing the three brothers into silence.

Hashirama releases a strained hum. "Can't a true pact…" He leans back before leaning forward with a puzzled expression. "...an alliance be achieved?"  
"What's a 'true pact'?" Itama's inquiry echoes.

But no one can answer.

 _What is a 'true pact'?_

After leaving the funeral, Tobirama leaves his two brothers on their way home, saying, "I'm going to go train."

The other two were exhausted and so did not follow, despite how they may have done so on any other occasion. Not that Tobirama didn't expect anything less of them—in fact, he had wanted to make sure that they would not follow him.

After all, where he is going is a secret.

As he had expected, Tobirama finds Izuna next to the river. The raven-haired boy was sitting on a particularly large rock as he stares up at the sky. Tobirama lets Izuna feel him as he walks with actual sound in his step unlike usual.

That is the first thing Izuna notices is off about Tobirama. In an instant, Izuna recognizes his friend's footsteps and a grin slides up his lips as he turns around and jumps off his rock to greet him. "Yo, Tobirama—" His voice fades and his smile drops when he sees Tobirama's expression.

Tobirama's usually sarcastic and sharp crimson eyes had a layer of dull and grim darkness. His usual frown seemed as if it were full of sadness rather than of its condescending exasperation. In conclusion, Tobirama looks _sad_ — **depressed** even.

"My little brother died."

Izuna opens his mouth, trying to conjure up something to say, but nothing comes out and so the raven-haired boy closes his lips. He presses his lips together, pursing them during a moment of thought before he makes his decision. Izuna takes his left arm and pats his right shoulder, signaling Tobirama to come over.

Tobirama silently complies. Soon, his silver hair tickles Izuna's cheek as Tobirama buries his face into his shoulder. He releases a sigh as Izuna brings his arm up to rub the other boy's back, gently.

Tobirama broke down.

He confesses everything to Izuna—his frustrations, his fears, his brothers, his thoughts on peace—everything.

Izuna listens silently, taking in everything Tobirama is saying.

Tobirama is frustrated about how the war and how stupid the adults are. He ridicules them calling them words Izuna doesn't even know but swears to search up when he gets home.

Tobirama is afraid—not of battle to come or even the war—but of loss, incompetence, and emotion.

He is afraid to lose another loved one.

He is afraid that his incompetence will be their downfall.

He is afraid to show his emotions and, at the same time, he is afraid of not showing them.

He is afraid that he will become consumed by his emotions if he shows them. On the other hand, he is afraid that if he does not show them that he will forget about them like his father has.

His brothers rely on him—he is their support, there for them when they are in need and there to hold them to reality since they tend to be impulsive and idiotic.

Tobirama yearns for peace.

He yearns for a place that he can watch his brothers grow and fall in love and have children—so they can live their life.

He can't help but yearn for that image. Yet, in all his genius brain, he cannot think of a solution.

Tobirama's head is still buried in Izuna's shoulder, his silver hair tickling the raven-haired boy's cheek. Izuna runs his hand over Tobirama's back, soothingly petting it. The dark-haired boy feels a slight vibration near his shoulder and a warm breath when the other boy asks, "What is a 'true pact'?"

"I don't know…" Izuna whispers, his hand rising to Tobirama's messy silver-hair. He tangles his fingers in the strands and gently pets it.

"But, how about we search for the answer, together?"

* * *

 **So this was a really long chapter!**

 **And I copied the whole Kawarama burial straight from the anime except for one of Tobirama's lines. I felt like that line made him seem like an asshole to Itama.**

 **Anyways, what do you think? They both discover their clan before the whole Madara and Hashirama thingy!**

 **So, um... think of some scenarios? I will definitely start requesting them when I can actually see what I need... ^^'**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the show!**

 **Please leave a review before you leave!**


	3. Training the Sharingan

**Hey, guys! Sorry for the late update! For all my series, I won't be able to update frequently due to exams this next 2 weeks! My classes are finally starting to have more exams and I'm a bit behind in terms of math... (even though it is usually so easy for me TT^TT) [I can't help it, my teacher is horrible] {or else I could be like the past 3-4 years of math where I slept half/most of the time in class...} Now, I have a physics and anthropology exam this Friday and then a psychology exam next Tuesday.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I know many of you have requested or suggested to see some training between Tobirama and Izuna! To be honest, I'm not sure if this is any good... I'm not quite sure if my action scenes are any good...**

 **I hope it meets your standards, though!**

 **Oh! And I decided to ask you guys as well if you have any ideas for Izuna's mangekyo ability! I have been asking my Kunoichi Series (Kakashi Chronicles and Perfect Doll) readers recently, but I still haven't come to a conclusion yet! I might be using that same ability for this series... but it all depends on what it turns out to be!**

 **Anyways, enjoy~**

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"Have you told anyone yet?"

Izuna pauses with a jerk at Tobirama's sudden question. He lifts a questioning eyebrow at his albino friend, "About what?"

Crimson orbs eye obsidian orbs as the silver-haired boy answers bluntly, "Your Sharingan,"

Izuna had unlocked his Sharingan a month ago when he had found his two youngest brothers dead. It was the same day Tobirama had confirmed Izuna's identity as an Uchiha and Izuna had confirmed Tobirama's identity as a Senju.

"Nope!~" the raven-haired boy kicks back, leaning on his arms for support against the boulder's smooth surface.

Tobirama tilts his head, perplexed by his friend's response. "Why?" Even though Tobirama doesn't know much about the Uchiha, he understands that their prized dojutsu is a sign of pride to the clan. For Izuna not to boast about it was unfathomable to the young genius.

"It's too much trouble! I mean, this is our family's big specialty!" Izuna tries to explain, "So, if anyone shows that they are able to use it—they'll be thrown straight into the battlefield!" The raven-haired boy's obsidian eyes darken at the thought. "I'd rather not get too deep into the war. Plus, it's best if I wait until my brother awakens his so I can at least stay together with him if we do end up having to go."

"Hmm…" Tobirama hums as he processes Izuna's perception. "You actually think things through, huh."

"What do you mean by that?!" Izuna cries dramatically, "For your information, I do think quite a lot!"

Tobirama stares at him, boring into the dark-haired boy with impassive crimson eyes. "Yes, but your head tends to be in the clouds along with that," The albino deadpans, "It makes you clumsy, Izuna."

"I'm not _that_ bad…" Izuna pouts, "My brother is worse—he is always thinking about peace and stuff."

An interest sparks in Tobirama's red eyes as he is piqued by Izuna's statement. "Your brother as well?" The silver-haired boy releases an exasperated sigh as he gazes out at the river almost fondly. "Mine always boasts about his ideas for peace and such. It often gets him in trouble with our father, so I try to be around when he does."

Izuna hums as he sits up, smoothing his pale hand over the boulder's cool surface. "Mine doesn't really talk about his ideas to anyone, he usually likes to just brood over it." He eyes the river alongside Tobirama before he switches his focus back to his silver-haired friend. "I did ask him a few times about it though!" Izuna exclaims before he rolls his eyes. "He is always **so** philosophical!"

"Oh? In what way?" The albino inquires, curious by his friend's tone.

There is a quick flash from obsidian to scarlet before returning to obsidian. " _We're ninja—we never know when we will die. If there were a way where neither side had to die… it would be where both sides revealed their insides, and hid nothing from each other. And poured each other drinks and drank together like brothers. But that's impossible… because one can't look deep into another's insides down to their guts. In reality, they could be as mad as hell._ " Izuna recites, holding a finger up. He then tilts his head to meet Tobirama's ruby eyes with his onyx eyes as he grins playfully. "—is what he says."

Tobirama stares at his friend for a few minutes, letting silence eat the atmosphere between them. It is only after Izuna looks like he is going to start twitching from the silence that Tobirama decides to respond, deadpanning."You used your Sharingan just to memorize that, didn't you."

Izuna blinks at his friend in mild surprise. He didn't think that his friend would have caught it with how much he has been practicing. A mischievous smirk crawls up Izuna's lips, "Hehe~ How did you figure out?"

"Your Sharingan flashed right before you said it." Tobirama bluntly points out. The flaw had shot an arrow through Izuna causing him to grunt in pain dramatically. The silver-haired genius sighs, shaking his head at his friend's buffoonery. "You really need to train it so that every time you remember something, it doesn't flash by."

"I do, though!" Izuna throws his arms in the air in exasperation. However, he quickly shifts to a pout, "But, I guess I should do it more… or else the cat will be out of the bag before I know it…" The raven-haired boy trails off as he becomes entangled in his own thoughts. Tobirama allows him to stay in his dreaming state. This allowed the albino some time of tranquility to train with his sword. This serenity is broken, however, when Izuna suddenly jumps up. "I got it! Tobirama, help me train it!"

Tobirama arches an eyebrow at his friend. "Train it? And how could I help with that?" Tobirama had no absolute knowledge about the Sharingan in the first place—all he knows is that it is a powerful dojutsu than can immensely power up a ninja. The silver-haired genius quite disliked how he had such limited knowledge on any subject; however, it wasn't as if he were going to ask Izuna for details. That would be highly intrusive and offensive as the Sharingan is the prized trade of an Uchiha—and Tobirama didn't want to offend his rather bubbly friend. "I don't even know all the abilities the Sharingan is supposed to hold."

"Well…" Izuna holds his chin and tilts his head from side to side as he considers telling Tobirama about the prized dojutsu. _Might as well, if any non-Uchiha could help me figure out how to use the Sharingan, it would be Tobirama… Plus, he would probably figure out the abilities over time anyway._ "The Sharingan has two broad abilities known as the 'Eye of Insight' and the 'Eye of Hypnotism'. Each person has slightly different abilities, but they are about the same for everyone." Izuna holds up a peace sign to signify the two abilities before continuing his explanation. "Basically, the Eye of Insight abilities let us see chakra. It also lets us see with greater clarity of perception and allows us to copy pretty much almost any jutsu we see. On the other hand, the Eye of Hypnotism allows us to perform super strong genjutsu."

The silver-haired boy nods as he devours the information like a starving predator. Then Tobirama's mind races through several different scenarios, rummaging for one that suits the current situation. When he finds it he gives Izuna a small nod. "Okay, I've come up with a training regime."

The Uchiha boy's eyes sparkle as he worships his best friend with praises and dramatic, playful begging. Tobirama huffs at the other boy's behavior as he pushes his friend away. Izuna laughs.

"So, what's the plan, sensei?" The raven-haired boy asks his albino friend with a slight tone of amusement underneath his words.

"Don't call me 'sensei'," Tobirama shoots a quick glare before he grumbles. "I don't want a student like you…"

"Aww…" Izuna pouts mischievously. "Why? I would be an awesome student!~"

Tobirama stares pointedly, "Izuna, focus."

"Fine~" The raven-haired boy sings. Izuna plays with his expressions a bit, from pursing his lips to pulling them back to make a funny face. He finds the activity boring after his fifth pout, so twirls back to his albino friend. "So, what is the regime, anyway?"

"We'll start by training your Sharingan in order to raise your perception," Tobirama informs his raven-haired friend. "Now, activate your Sharingan. We will be sparring with only taijutsu first. Try to predict my movements and dodge it as you look for an opening to attack." The young genius smirks lightly—his lips barely curving up as his crimson eyes meet Izuna's obsidian ones. "If I land 10 hits, then you lose. However, the opposite goes as well. If you land 10 hits on me, then you win."

A smirk rises on Izuna's face as excitement bubbles within him. His onyx eyes swirl into scarlet rubies as they narrow in determination and challenge. "You're on!"

"Then…" Sharp crimson eyes scan the stone floor before Tobirama eyes a certain stone. The silver-haired boy bends down to pick up the stone and gauges it once last time. He then holds it up so Izuna can see it. "Our signal will be this."

"Okay," Izuna couldn't stop smiling as the anticipation made adrenaline pump through him. He jumps back from his friend, taking a battle stance to show that he is ready. "I'm ready when you are!"

Tobirama throws the stone up in the air, allowing it to rise to its maximum height before gravity takes over, pushing the stone into free fall towards the ground. In that instant, the young genius shifts into a battle stance as well, readying himself for the fight to come. Izuna mirrors, with his crimson eyes open, ready to catch the speedy albino.

The stone clatters as it hits the ground.

The instant the stone crashed into the floor, Tobirama moves nimbly—so fast that Izuna knew if he hadn't had the Sharingan activated in that moment, he would not have caught the sudden movement. Within seconds, Tobirama is in front of Izuna, delivering a punch towards Izuna's gut. Reflexively, Izuna moves his arms to block the hit; however, he remembered that a hit was a hit still, so he had to dodge. Unfortunately, he changed his mind too late and he was already stuck in the motion of a block.

The albino lands his first hit on Izuna's arms.

Izuna curses as he tries to flee in order to regroup. This is not successful, however, given the fact that Tobirama is faster than Izuna in terms of speed. Tobirama is able to land three more hits with the opportunity.

 _I need to get faster!_ Izuna tries to counter by grabbing Tobirama's leg in order to fling the other boy into the air. Tobirama uses this to his advantage, kicking Izuna with his other leg and making the raven-haired boy release him before he twirls around to land another hit.

"Izuna, don't try to get faster than me," Tobirama shouts as he jumps away from his friend. "Use your Sharingan, Izuna!"

Izuna's scarlet eyes widen at the advice. _That's right… don't try to get faster… but follow the movements faster…!_

The Uchiha trains his dojutsu on his opponent, who dashes towards him at a lightning pace. His eyes dart around, trying to pick up every little detail they can, sending sensory information to stimulate his brain's perception.

Izuna catches the small smirk that flickers across Tobirama's face before the albino disappears from sight.

 _I need to predict the movements._

The Sharingan traces the path, hastily trying to follow the invisible position track.

 _I need to catch every little detail with my Sharingan._

In the raven-haired boy's peripheral, he spots a tuff of pearly-silver hair and twirls to tail it.

 _I need to be able to_ ** _"see"_** _!_

Izuna's eyes snap, seeing the vision of his friend in front of him, ready to land a quick chop. The Uchiha rapidly side steps away, missing Tobirama when he suddenly appears in front of the spot he was just standing in.

A grin spreads across Izuna's lips in his little victory. _I did it!_

This, however, was his ultimate downfall as he releases his guard for more than a moment. A moment which his silver-haired opponent takes advantage of.

Tobirama makes contact with Izuna, his punches and kicks producing the remaining four hits, ending their spar. Izuna ends up rolling onto his butt laughing as the adrenaline coursing through his veins prevent him from feeling the sore pain from the earlier hits.

Tobirama sighs at his friend as he offers his hand to help him up. "Nevermind your Sharingan, you need to work on focusing on your opponent first."

Izuna accepts the hand, letting Tobirama pull him up as he himself jumps to his feet. He brushes off the bits of dirt on his clothes as he shrugs. "Now don't be like that, Tobirama." The raven-haired boy gives his friend a cheeky grin, "At least I was able to control my Sharingan more by the end!"

Tobirama huffs as he crosses his arms. "That was the point of the whole training!" A small smile slips past the albino's usual poker face. "Well, it is true though—you were able to control your Sharingan at least for a few brief seconds. Congratulations."

Izuna laments deactivating his Sharingan at that moment while his obsidian eyes are wide as he stares at Tobirama's face. "Oh, my sage of six paths—the world is actually ending…!" Izuna gasps melodramatically before he shrieks, "Tobirama, the world is ending!"

"Huh?" Tobirama arches an eyebrow at his friend as one of his crimson eyes twitches in bewilderment.

" **You** just **smiled**." Izuna points at Tobirama. The young genius feels very tempted to snap that very same finger. He doesn't, however, since Izuna ten throws his arms in the air. "The world is ending!" The raven-haired boy begins to step back as he brings his hands together as if he is praying. "Sorry, nii-san—I am so sorry that I ate your mochi that you had saved for later toda—"

 **SPLASH!**

"I didn't even touch you, Izuna." Tobirama peers down at Izuna, who is now soaked with his butt hitting the shallow river bottom.

Izuna leers at his albino friend, very much not amused.

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 **So, how was it? Was the action okay? I swear that I never know if I write the action right...**

 **Anyways! Please keep in mind that I am searching for Izuna's mangekyo ability ideas! If you have any, please tell me!**

 **I am also accepting scenario requests for this series!**

 **Please leave a review before you leave!~**


	4. Itama's Suspicion

**Hey, guys, sorry for the late update! I meant to get this chapter in yesterday or the day before yesterday, but on the day before yesterday I felt super lethargic and had no energy at all!**

 **Scenario requests are still on!~**

 **Anyways, I finally got through my procrastination and wrote this!**

 **I hope you enjoy it~**

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For the past month, Senju Itama has noticed that his older brother has been acting weird.

No—not Hashirama, in his case if he wasn't be acting "weird" he would be acting weird—it was Tobirama.

A tuff of silver hair passes in the distance. Itama, noticing this, calls out. "Tobirama-niisama where are you going?"

Tobirama pauses and turns to his youngest brother, letting his impassive expression fall on the half-light-, half-dark-haired boy. "Training," The silver-haired boy answers promptly.

There is a faint sparkle in Tobirama's usually clear crimson eyes that catches Itama's eye. It gives a faint glow of warmth and underlying excitement to those scarlet orbs. Itama can't help but feel intrigued by it; however, he doesn't dig any further as respect to his closest brother's privacy.

Itama smiles cheerfully, "Okay! Make sure not to overwork yourself."

Tobirama's lips slightly raise into a thin line. Though most can't see it, this was Tobirama's smile and Itama could see the very slight lift in the ends of his brother's lips. "Yeah," The silver-haired boy nods before he ruffles his little brother's hair and takes his leave. "I'll be back by dinner."

"Have a safe trip!~" Itama sweetly calls out as he waves to his brother's disappearing figure.

Once Tobirama is out of sight, the youngest Senju sibling gradually drops his arm. His brown eyes stare at the distance where his older brother had left from with a silent longing.

Tobirama has been acting weird.

The second son of Senju Butsuma has always been a very calm and reserved boy. He is proud and stoic, a genius beyond his time in terms of skills and intelligence. He is the Senju clan head's, their father's, pride and joy—a perfect warrior. However, this pride Butsuma places on the boy only pressures him—it only pressures the boy to work harder and achieve more.

Itama knows his older brothers very well.

Hashirama is lax and carefree on the outside, but he struggles with keeping up with his younger brother. However, Hashirama loves deeply and holds no scorn towards Tobirama for his brilliance. Instead, it prompts him to work harder towards his dreams of peace.

Kawarama was also quite adventurous, always the fun-loving older brother who couldn't complain about any activity as long as it was physical. He was skilled as well and, if he were still alive, he surely would be pulling his brothers to hang out more often.

Ever since Kawarama's death, it seems like the Senju siblings have become more split apart.

Then there was Tobirama, the embodiment of cool. A genius who outshines the rest of the siblings.

Itama knows though—he knows Tobirama is only trying to protect them with his brilliant light. That his kind and gentle older brother is trying to keep away the dark intentions of others, hogging the unwanted attention and pressures on himself. So that Itama and Hashirama will no longer have to feel like they are submerged up to their neck in heavy water, ready to drown in any second. Honestly, it was so sad.

The path Tobirama walks is a sad and lonely path—so dark and depraved that even Itama can't stand to look.

However, in his brother's usual poker face which most people misunderstand to be cold like his "heart"—though his heart is actually one of the warmest and gentlest, not that most care enough to know—there is a tinge of foreign excitement and warmth.

Itama can't help but feel curious about it.

Itama decides to ask his oldest brother, Hashirama, about it first. The half-light-, half-dark haired boy had been wondering if his oldest brother had noticed the sudden development as well.

Unfortunately, Hashirama had not noticed Tobirama's peculiar change.

Though he did believe Itama's word on it and decides the best course of action was to just ask their other brother directly.

Of course, it isn't.

"Hey Tobirama, Tobirama!" Hashirama bounces up and down around his silver-haired younger brother as he chirps.

At that moment, Tobirama is sharpening his katana, making sure that his weapon was in good condition. The second Senju brother doesn't so much as flinch from the oldest brother's annoying chatter as he is used to Hashirama's antics. "What?"

A devious grin spreads on the brunette's face. "You look happier these days," Hashirama tilts his head, curiously. "Did something good happen?"

Tobirama continues to sharpen his katana. "Nothing in particular."

Hashirama pouts at the response. He knows something has happened that is making his little brother so happy—well, according to Itama that is—and he doesn't like how the silver-haired boy refuses to tell him. "Are you sure?" Hashirama leans in, getting too close for Tobirama's comfort. The brunette's eyebrows are furrowed as he sizes up his little brother's reactions—or lack thereof. Suddenly, a light bulb flashes in Hashirama's mind. "Wait! Don't tell me!" The Senju clan heir jolts back with a dramatic gasp. "It's a girl, isn't it! Aww~ My little Tobirama has grown up and has a crush now!~" Hashirama coos as he lets his imagination run wild along with his mouth.

Of course, as per usual, this irritates Tobirama endlessly. "Anija," Hashirama's attention snaps back to his little brother who meets his brown eyes with a sharp crimson glare. "If you came to bother me with this nonsense, I advise you to leave."

"Oh?" Hashirama's expression twists into an impish smirk as he elbows his brother playfully. "Are you in denial? Come on, you can tell me! Who is the lucky lady?"

There is a slight twitch in Tobirama's eyebrow—the only evidence that the normally calm genius is on the edge. "I do not have a crush on anyone, Anija." Tobirama glowers as he swings his now sharpened sword. "There is no time for that nonsense and I am focused on my training."

"Aww~" Hashirama insistently teases. "Don't be shy!~ You can admit it to your older brother—"

"Anija, be quiet." The silver-haired boy seethes as he sheathes his katana.

Tobirama's sharp tone, unfortunately, does not silent his idiotic and stubborn older brother like it had intended to. Instead, Hashirama becomes more persistent.

Hashirama then became the second victim of Tobirama's new water jutsu—Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet. He had first used this skill when sparring with Izuna back in the river as he was figuring more skills to combat Izuna's newly gained Sharingan.

The Senju clan heir hadn't seen it coming—or, well, he sort of had with the flurry of hand signs his little brother had made in a matter of seconds. However, the brunette could not react to the sudden condensation of water forming a giant water dragon which spat a huge water ball at him. Hashirama had been too in awe to do anything and so he left himself to just stand there like a fish, gaping as he is overwhelmed by the abrupt burst of water and drenched down to his underwear.

Honestly, Itama would have laughed at his older brother's expression if he wasn't so worried that the brunette would come down with hypothermia.

Tobirama, who is now much calmer after exacting his frustrations on his older brother, sighs at the still-gaping Senju heir. The silver-haired boy walks back into the house before quickly coming back with two towels, throwing one of them on Hashirama's head. He then turns to where Itama is hiding and motions the boy to come closer.

Following his instincts, the half-light-, half-dark-haired boy approaches his two older brothers. Once reaching them, Tobirama hands Itama the towel in his hand before he proceeds to use the towel on Hashirama's head to dry their older brother's choppy brown hair. Though it would seem like Tobirama would treat Hashirama's hair rather roughly, it was quite the opposite. The second oldest brother's touch is gentle and calm as he rubs the eldest brother's hair dry. The action seems to snap Hashirama from his bewildered daze and soon the elder is humming to Tobirama's kind touch like a kitten content with a good scratch under the chin.

Itama smiles at his two brothers' interaction.

Nowadays, it was rare for the three of them to be together like this at all—with their father pushing them out on the battlefield and their own individual training for survival. It was difficult for the three brothers to meet.

Therefore, seeing his two older brothers interact with such a serene atmosphere made Itama content. He loves his older brothers after all—no matter how silly they can be.

Tobirama pauses from his task of drying Hashirama and motions for Itama to come over to them once again. Remembering that he is just standing there with a towel in hand, Itama quickly complies with a bit of shy embarrassment reddening his cheeks.

After another minute of drying Hashirama's hair, Tobirama finds that he has done enough for his older brother and huffs. The silver-haired genius then motions for Itama to pass him the towel in his hands which the younger brother does almost immediately once asked. Tobirama then proceeds to wrap the towel around his older brother's shoulders, making sure Hashirama secures the towel. The second brother lectures the oldest brother once he finishes and then pushes Hashirama back into the house. He scolds him into taking a bath and changing into fresh clothes so he doesn't catch a cold.

Thankfully, Hashirama does have some common sense and follows his younger brother's orders without wasting any more time with his nonsensical ideas.

Itama and Tobirama watch as their older brother saunters back into the house and stand there for a good three minutes watching the door, making sure Hashirama is not going to pop out anytime soon. Once satisfied, Tobirama turns to Itama.

Itama knows instantly that he has been caught—those clear crimson eyes of his second brother shine with knowledge and understanding. The half-light-, half-dark-haired Senju boy realizes what he must do.

Itama bows to his silver-haired brother with his brown eyes shut as if he is trying his best to reject the ground beneath him. "I'm sorry, Tobirama-niisama."

The youngest Senju sibling wasn't sure what to expect. Though his second brother is kind he is also very stern and serious. Tobirama likes his personal space and quite dislikes it when people try to invade it—like Hashirama had done. However, Tobirama loves his brothers deeply. So, maybe—just maybe—he would forgive them. Then again, Tobirama knows how to hold grudges.

Instead of the lecturing he had been expecting, Itama felt a soft hand on his head. The gentle contact caused the youngest Senju brother to open his big, brown eyes and look up at his brother. His brown eyes meet crimson eyes which hold a warm, humored and loving tone.

Tobirama's pale fingers tangle in Itama's mix-colored locks, petting his younger brother's head in a soothing way. His scarlet eyes are soft as a small smile lifts on his lips. "If you have a question Itama, you can ask me." Tobirama's smooth and cool voice is refreshing like water flowing in a stream, gentle yet strong as it pushes forward. "There is no need to be reserved."

Itama's lips part, taking in a breath then releasing it and closing his mouth. A small blush creeps up Itama's cheeks as he twiddles his fingers and his brown eyes avert away from his brother's calm expression. "I-i've noticed that, lately, Tobirama-niisama has been in a good mood…" Becoming more determined, Itama slides his brown eyes to meet his older brother's scarlet orbs. "Why have you been in a good mood, Niisama?"

Tobirama stares into Itama's eyes for a moment, lingering on the determination glowing in those brown orbs. The silver-haired genius sighs and shakes his head—he had feared this day would come. "So it's about that, huh." Tobirama gives Itama a serious face. "Itama can you keep a secret from Anija and Father?"

Tobirama rarely relies on others. That is a fact Itama knows all too well. So when his older brother asks him that question—Itama understands just how much more trust Tobirama is placing in him. Of course, the youngest Senju brother is excited beyond belief—this whole occurrence is like a dream. "Yes!"

"Truth is, I have made a friend…" The silver-haired boy confesses, "And I often train with him at the river."

"A friend?" Itama blinks, curiously. His older brother has always been a reserved person, never wanting to get close to anyone in the clan beyond his brothers and their cousin, Touka. So it's strange to hear Tobirama speak of making a friend. Itama had never expected this—at most he expected his older brother had created another new jutsu, but not this. Therefore, hearing that his brother had actually met someone and became close enough to this someone to even consider him a friend, Itama is naturally enthused. "Can I meet him?"

The abrupt question doesn't quite throw Tobirama off. Rather instead, the silver-haired boy considers it for a moment—the contemplative look on his face told Itama so—but, then, it contorts into a grimace.

Seeing his older brother's expression, Itama's excitement dwindles as his mouth curves into a pout. "No…?"

Tobirama takes one look at his little brother's expression before he sighs. The silver-haired boy rubs his arm as his grimace sets in. "It is not that I mind you meeting him…" Tobirama groans as he brings up his hand to rub his temple. "It's rather, I don't want that guy to taint my precious, pure little brother."

 **A—choo!**

"Bless you," Madara promptly calls out. The older raven-haired boy tilts his head as to take in the sight of the sneezer. "Don't tell me you're getting sick, Izuna?"

"I'm not." Izuna's voice is slightly nasally as he rubs his nose. "It's just my nose felt itchy all of a sudden."

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 **How was the chapter?**

 **I wasn't sure if I made Tobirama overreact to Hashirama, hopefully, this is all good...**

 **Anyways, Madara still only gets a little part once again! I swear I will think of a way to have him properly debut prior to his meeting with Hashirama!**

 **Okay, so scenario requests, please!~**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Please leave a review before you leave!~**


	5. Izuna and Itama

**Yay! I finally got this done! XD**

 **I've raised my calc grade up to a B and it looks like if I keep doing as I am I will climb up to an A by the end of the term! Hooray!**

 **Okay, so I actually made this cover like 3-4 days ago, but I wanted to wait until I posted the next chapter to put it in!**

 **I will be posting it on my tumblr (kingkagura) and my deviantart (anime-luvrHES) as well, so please do check it out!**

 **Anyways, not much to say here besides if you want to request scenarios, then go right ahead!**

 **I hope you enjoy the chapter~**

* * *

Red, orange, gold, and brown—the vivid colors of autumn decorate most every tree in the forest. The wind blows chills down spines as it sweeps up the fallen leaves and brisks them away on the breeze. The days were still sunny—the sun being stubborn and unwilling to give in to the pouty clouds, still having enough energy to fight for dominance over the embodiment of condensation of water.

Itama rushes towards the river. The young half-light, half-dark haired boy has a smile bright on his face as the tingling rush of adrenaline runs through his veins.

It has been months since the youngest Senju had discovered Tobirama's secret.

The secret that Tobirama had made a friend at the river.

Itama had asked countless of times if he could meet his older brother's friend, but the silver-haired genius only denied his request. He spouted on about how the other boy was not "worthy" of meeting his precious little brother—not that Itama quite understood what he meant beyond his usual protectiveness.

However, today is the day he can finally meet this mysterious entity known as Tobirama's friend.

After all, it isn't like the older boy can stop him now.

Tobirama is stuck in bed now—sick from a cold that their older brother, Hashirama, had spread to him.

Hashirama had fallen into the river the other day, coming back soaking wet. Of course, Tobirama the mature, second oldest brother took responsibility and took care of his dorky, idiotic older brother. Which is how Hashirama, successfully spread his cold over to Tobirama, making the usually composed boy into a bedridden, sniffling mess.

Itama knows that today is one of the usual meet days between Tobirama and his friend at the river. And since Tobirama cannot exactly tell his friend that he is sick and cannot make it, Itama decided to do it for his brother!

This is why Senju Itama and Uchiha Izuna have their fateful encounter that autumn day.

"Oh no! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Parkouring through the trees is a young raven-haired boy wearing a navy blue yukata and light grey pants. Izuna is rushing through the forest path in order to reach his hang out with Tobirama—the river. "Stupid Nii-san just had to hold me up by asking those stupid questions on what makes a sick person feel better!" Izuna huffs as he reminisces on how Madara had burst into his room earlier and curtly demanded to know how to make someone who had caught a cold feel better. Madara was particularly ignorant to this mostly due to being very healthy all the time and since he hasn't caught a cold since he was younger than he can remember. So, Izuna, who was more normal in constitution, had to explain to his older brother what makes him feel better when he gets sick. "Now I'm late and Tobirama is going to tease me for it!" Izuna growls. He hates it when the silver-haired boy has leverage over him.

After a couple more minutes of jumping through the trees, Izuna finally lands on the river's stone shore with a huff. The raven-haired boy's lips lift into a smirk as he catches sight of a tuft of light-colored hair, recognizing his best friend's signature characteristic. Izuna waves to the other boy as he approaches him with a light jog. "Sorry I'm late, Tobirama!"

His voice seems to startle the other boy—which is strange since Tobirama can usually sense him like a mile away and Tobirama never flinches—maybe winces but not flinches as far as Izuna has seen. Izuna realizes that this boy isn't Tobirama.

"Wait," The Uchiha boy freezes mid-step as he watches the light-haired boy twirl around to face him. "You aren't Tobirama!"

This boy was slightly shorter than Izuna and, though he did have Tobirama's hair color on one side, on the other side he had brown hair instead of pearly-silver. Not only that, but this boy had softer, bigger and rounder brown eyes rather than Tobirama's sharp crimson ones. However, the boy was dressing similar to Tobirama with gray hakama pants, a black tank top, and a tan yukata shirt.

 _Probably another Senju then._ Izuna deduces with a careful eye.

"Umm…" A slight crack is made in the silence when the mysterious boy begins to speak. His voice is soft and gentle, shy yet with a tinge of bravery hidden in it. "Hi…?" The boy greets Izuna with a slight tilt of his head as he stares at the Uchiha with brown eyes full of docile curiosity. "You're friends with Tobirama-niisama… right?"

The raven-haired boy blinks. _Tobirama…_ ** _niisama_** _—?!_

 _As in this innocent looking boy is_ ** _that_** _prickly Tobirama's little brother?!_ Izuna examines the boy from head-to-toe. _Well, half of his head is the same as Tobirama's… ish._

"Okay! Hold on a minute—!" Izuna holds a hand up to pause the whole scene as he processes what in the world is going on. "That means you're umm… Itama—the younger brother?"

Itama bobs his head, confirming Izuna's thought. Itama smiles brightly as he claps his hands together, "That means you are Tobirama-niisama's friend!" The half-light, half-dark haired boy tilts his head at the Uchiha boy. "What's your name?"

Izuna grins, "I'm Izuna! Nice to meet you, Itama-chan~"

" _'Itama-chan'_?" The younger boy blinks his big, brown eyes, perplexed by the nickname.

Izuna ruffles the boy's mixed-color hair and laughs as he answers Itama's silent question. "Itama-chan since you are a little, sweet cutie even when your big brother is a prickly bundle of irritation. Plus," A devious grin spreads Izuna's lips as he drags his hand up to Itama's cheeks. He playfully pinches one of the soft, pale cheeks and tugs at it lightly, stretching it but not with enough force as to hurt the younger boy. "Look at how soft you are!~"

The slight force which stretches his cheek didn't hurt very much to Itama, however, the whole thing was uncomfortable on his cheek and jaw. Tears brim Itama's chocolate eyes as he asks, "Shtwap, pureash."

"Oh," Izuna promptly drops his grip and rubs his thumb over Itama's smooth, plush cheek with worry evident in his eyes. Had he gone too far? "Sorry, did that hurt?"

Itama shakes his head before he rubs his stretched cheek, "No, just a bit uncomfortable."

The older boy smiles at the younger as he pats the light and dark-haired head. "You're a good kid."

For some reason, the praise made the marble-haired boy feel giddy inside. Itama giggles, "Thank you!"

Izuna gives another head rub to the smaller boy before the thought hits him.

 _Why is Itama here instead of Tobirama?_

Izuna had heard from Tobirama that his little brother had been a bit suspicious of his actions as of late, so the two decided to change up the schedule meet days every week and repeat the cycle every three weeks. Most probably wouldn't have realized this pattern—then again, the younger Senju had already been suspicious so he must have been paying extra attention to Tobirama. Though, that still doesn't explain why the little Senju was here in his place. "By the way, why are you here instead of Tobirama?"

"Well…" Itama twiddles his fingers shyly as he begins to explain. "Hashirama-anija got Tobirama-niisama sick, so today Tobirama-niisama is stuck in bed to recover. I figured out your meet schedule and since it was today… and I thought I would tell you that Tobirama-niisama cannot come today..." The mix-colored boy gazes into the older boy's obsidian eyes with a timid smile before he averts his brown eyes to the ground. "Tobirama-niisama never tells me about you." He looks up at Izuna again, "When I ask him about you, he always grumbles about not 'associating with such asininities'…"

There is a mild twitch in Izuna's eyebrow at that statement. "Heh~" That's what Tobirama calls him behind his back—an idiot. _And what does he mean?! Is he saying that I will spread my idiocy to his precious little brother?!_ "Is that so…" Izuna narrows his eyes to the side as a mischievous thought passes through his mind. _I'll show you who is an idiot…_

A tug on his yukata sleeve pulls Izuna out of his sinister plans. The raven-haired boy draws his attention back onto the younger boy who tilts his head and asks. "What does the word 'associating' mean?" Izuna blinks at the sudden question and Itama takes this as a time to explain. "Tobirama-niisama always uses such complicated words even though I don't know what they mean yet…"

Izuna chuckles. It was just like Tobirama to use his extended vocabulary whenever he can—given how little he interacts with others to boot. "It means to umm… how to say this?" Izuna taps his chin in thought as he strings the words together in his mind. "It means to relate to something or someone… like to connect to them!"

"Ohh!" Itama nods his head as he connects the word to the definition he was given. The young Senju then inquires. "Then, what does the word 'asininities' mean?"

Obsidian eyes narrow darkly at the word, as Izuna remembers what Itama had quoted from his older brother. " _'asinities'_ , huh…" Izuna finds the younger boy's curiosity to be endearing. However, this was one word he did not want to define—given what Tobirama had told the boy. Well, there are other ways around this predicament. With a cheerful tone, Izuna explains. "Those are activities you do to be awesome!"

"Really?" Itama blinks before he furrows his eyebrows. "But Tobirama-niisama uses that word to describe what Hashirama-anija does all the time and he always flails around and stuff…"

"Tobirama must have misunderstood the definition of it then!~" Izuna hums.

"But Tobirama-niisama is never wrong…!" Itama retorts, defending his precious older brother.

Izuna smiles at this action. It was cute how the younger Senju idolized his older brother so much. "Now, now." The raven-haired boy waves his hands as to deter the fuming Itama. "We can argue all day but why not we do something more fun?" A foxy grin spreads playfully on Izuna's lips as he skips away from the younger boy.

Itama stops fuming, piqued by the older boy's words. "Do something fun?" Itama, full of curiosity, follows faithfully behind Izuna. "Like what?"

"Hmm…" Izuna scans their surroundings. The area was mostly just the river and the rocky shore with a forest full of trees on both ends—there was nothing interesting to do in sight. "Like…" The raven-haired scowls as he concentrates. Abruptly, a lightbulb flashes in his mind. "How about we play a game?" Izuna pats the marble-haired boy's head. "Do you have any sort of game you want to play, Itama-chan?"

Itama hums as he closes his eyes to think, even pursing his lips into a pout as he does. Izuna coos at the expression, finding it absolutely adorable. Once the boy comes to a conclusion, his expression explodes into a bright, energetic smile. "Can we play tag?"

Izuna ruffles the adorable boy's hair, messing it up. "Of course!" He laughs as he pokes the boy's forehead. "Tag, you're it!"

The raven-haired boy hastily rushes off, running down the stone shore, laughing. Itama breaks out into a huge grin as he runs after the older boy and laughs.

"So, I met your little brother when you were out with a cold." Izuna and Tobirama lounge on a giant boulder leisurely as they watch the colors of autumn twirl in the sky.

Tobirama chokes. Izuna smirks at the sound—music to his ears. The silver-haired boy's voice drops into a dark tone. "You, what…?"

"I met him, your little brother. The kid with half of your hair and half brown hair." Izuna shrugs off Tobirama's intimidation like it was merely a leaf on his shoulder. A playful smirk hangs on his lips as he sways a bit. "Itama-chan is a sweet kid~ He is like a little duckling who follows you around! So cute~" Izuna coos as he reminisces on his playday with his best friend's little brother. "I wish my little brother was like that~"

Tobirama huffs, "Well, you can't have him."

"Aww…" Izuna jokes his disappointment with a playful pout.

All of a sudden, Tobirama sneezes, causing Izuna to jolt slightly at the abrupt sound.

"Hey! Don't tell me you're still sick?!" The dark-haired boy jumps away from his friend.

Tobirama rubs the itch out of his nose. "Don't worry, you won't catch it."

"Huh?" Izuna squints one eye and raises an eyebrow at the other boy.

Tobirama smirks, "After all, idiots don't catch colds."

* * *

 **Okay, so throughout writing this chapter I had to keep reminding myself that Izuna is 9 and Itama is 6. Like seriously, I tried.**

 **I hope I made this age appropriate... Gosh, they are young.**

 **Anyways! Just here to remind you to check out my cover, whether it is by tumblr (kingkagura), or deviantart (anime-luvrHES)!**

 **Scenario requests are still welcome!**

 **Please leave a review before you leave!~**


	6. Happy Birthday

**Okay! So it seems that my updating schedule depends A LOT on my inspiration and motivation levels as well as my workload! Sorry that I finished so late!**

 **Anyways, I don't have much to say besides that you can request some scenarios if you want! I may or may not add them, but it doesn't hurt to say what you would find amusing to see! (I'm trying to end this fic withing 50 chapters... and I still haven't figured out an ending for it.)**

 **Also, thank you for all those who have reviewed! I know this will be a pretty slow fic in the beginning, but please bear with me! Once the whole children to preteen arc ends, then all the romance and drama and action can come with their teenage years! XD**

 **By the way, this chapter is of Izuna's and Tobirama's birthdays which means they are turning 10 now!**

 **Please enjoy~**

* * *

"It keeps on snowing, huh…" The frosty air is breached by the warm steam of a breath as Izuna exhales on his cold, pale hands to warm them up. The raven-haired boy gazes at the tranquil snowfall with sparkles in his obsidian eyes.

Tobirama, who is swinging his katana beside him, does not pause his practice in order to answer the other boy. "It is still winter."

"Even so…!" Izuna pouts, "It's already the end of January! And this is the Land of Fire!" The raven-haired boy complains, "It doesn't usually snow for this long!" The young boy hugs his arms, rubbing them furiously as to warm himself up. "It's so c-c-cold…!"

"You wouldn't be so cold if you were training." Mercilessly, Tobirama deadpans as he thrusts his katana forward, slicing a snowflake in half.

Izuna glares at the silver-haired boy and purses his lips, "Training too much is bad for your body though. Plus, all we do is train since you're a training maniac…"

"I don't overtrain." Tobirama retorts as he swings his sword again. The albino lowers his sword and sheathes it. "I have a set regime I must complete each day."

Izuna hums in acknowledgment as he brings his knees up to his chest in order to cuddle up closer to keep warmth.

It wasn't as if the Uchiha clan heir hated the snow. In fact, the boy quite enjoyed the delicate weather from its beautiful appearance to the playful activities done in it. However, he is a child of fire—his clan has high affinities with the element of fire. It wasn't as if he was actually cold enough to need to cuddle in his own warmth—he was warmer than the average human after all—it was just that he enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped in warmth more than in the cold. His siblings were the same as well—so perhaps it was just an Uchiha thing.

Despite enjoying the cold of winter, Izuna enjoyed the familiar warmth of spring. Spring was the season of blossoms and the celebration of when the ice of winter breaks. Overall, the later season was much more cheery in tone which is what Izuna enjoyed the most about the season.

Though spring was his favorite season, Izuna still saw the joys of winter.

After all, his birthday was in winter.

"You know…" Izuna begins, drawing Tobirama's attention from where he sits, sharpening his blade. "My birthday is coming up."

Tobirama hums from his place. "I see. What a coincidence." The albino lets the words slip from his lips.

The dark-haired boy blinks at his friend's words. "'Coincidence'...?" Izuna jolts at the revelation. "Don't tell me—" The Uchiha heir jumps up and approaches the other heir. "You're birthday too?!"

The silver-haired genius nods in response. "On the 19th,"

Izuna blinks. Then his lips began to twitch as he tries to not break out into a gigantic grin. Evidently, the young boy fails and Tobirama glances up to find Izuna having a wobbly, lop-sided grin on his face.

The albino arches an eyebrow at his friend's expression. "What?"

"My birthday is on the 10th." Triumphantly, Izuna allows his smile to bloom. "I'm **older** than you!" The dark-haired boy laughs in his predetermined victory—in what exactly, Tobirama doesn't even want to begin to fathom.

So, the albino continues with sharpening his katana, ignoring Izuna and his little happy dance.

Izuna, noticing how the younger boy was ignoring him, fumes. The mischievous Uchiha's eyes narrowed as he contemplated ways to draw the other boy's attention. A smirk crawls up his lips. "You should show more respect for me since I'm older!~" Izuna claims with a condescending tone.

Tobirama's eyebrow twitches at the comment. Usually, the genius would be much more mature than the other boy and would allow him to throw his tantrum. However, at the core, rather than mature, Tobirama was incredibly competitive and ultimately tenacious when it came to winning—almost so much that one could say he was childish.

The albino boy stands up silently, shocking Izuna slightly by the sudden motion. Izuna watches with a bewildered daze as Tobirama approaches him, striding powerfully towards the raven-haired boy with a dark expression.

Izuna was already standing when Tobirama looms over him. Crimson eyes stare with nothing evident beyond a particular glint that Izuna could not name as they gaze into his own obsidian eyes.

It was then that Izuna noticed he had tilted his head up slightly in order to meet the other boy's eyes.

Tobirama's crimson eyes narrow as his lips quirk up into a smirk. He chuckles. "At least I'm taller."

Over the course of the year and a half that they knew each other, Tobirama and Izuna had both been growing. They are growing boys after all and neither has reached puberty just yet. Despite this, both boys were usually about the same height. However, recently the Senju heir has been going through series of growth spurts while the Uchiha heir had been growing at his regular pace. Though this isn't quite a surprise seeing as how the Senju clan, in general, seemed to have descended from giants, growing up to be taller than average.

Now, Tobirama is about an inch or two taller than Izuna and the difference in height is rather noticeable.

Izuna scowls at the revelation of Tobirama's growth as the albino flashes one last smirk before returning to his katana.

 _I need to get taller and fast._

That evening, Madara strolls through the halls of his family's unit within the Uchiha lands. He had gotten up in order to use the bathroom and is now heading back to his own room when his eyes are drawn to the lit room. Curious, Madara approaches the room, which happens to be the kitchen, and takes a peek.

Madara blinks his obsidian eyes.

There is Izuna in the kitchen with three bottles of milk next to him—two empty, one full—and another in his hand. The younger Uchiha has his head tilted back as he gulps down the white liquid with vigor.

Madara slips into the room as he watches his younger brother. A laugh builds in his throat which he swallows as to not alarm his brother. A smirk lifts on his lips as he saunters to Izuna, who has not noticed his presence yet.

"You're not going to grow taller just by drinking a lot of milk."

Izuna jumps, spits, and chokes all at once.

The younger Uchiha coughs as the leftover white liquid spills from his mouth. His throat burns as if it were rubbed raw from the sudden expulsion. Tears build on the edges of his eyes as he twirls around to glare at the sudden intruder.

Madara only smiles in response to the hostile glare and flicks his little brother's forehead affectionately, causing Izuna to shut his eyes reflexively in a flinch to the sudden stinging pain. "Make sure to clean your mess."

Izuna rubs his forehead tenderly as he tries to pacify the pain. He pouts at his brother's retreating figure. _He should be cleaning it instead! It was his fault in the first place!_

Izuna sighs as he peers at the spilled milk.

"Izu-nii!" All of a sudden, Izuna is tackled into the ground by a giggling ball of energy.

"Oof!" Izuna grunts as air is knocked out of his lungs from the sudden tackle.

Uchiha Takuma, Izuna's remaining younger brother, hugs his older brother as he asks. "What do you want for your birthday?"

The older Uchiha smiles softly at his younger brother, rubbing the smaller boy's head. "I'll be happy if you just wish me a happy birthday. Besides—" Abruptly, Izuna begins messing up the younger's hair. "Do you even have the money to get me anything?"

"I am saving up with all the mission money I get and the allowance father gives!" pouts Takuma as he tries to pry away his big brother's hand from his hair. "Izu-nii, stop messing with my hair!"

Izuna continues to ruffle Takuma's hair with a big grin spread on his face despite his little brother's struggling to pry off his hands. Finally, the older Uchiha stops ruffling the younger's hair and, instead, pats his head with a grin. "Just save up your money, Takuma, and use it when you want something." _I'm happy with you just being here._

"Geez…!" In a fit, Takuma puffs his cheek and purses his lips. "Izu-nii, stop treating me like a child…!" To make his point, Takuma stomps his feet childishly.

Izuna laughs at his little brother's antics. The older Uchiha brings a hand to the younger's cheek before pinching the plushy skin. "But, you're so cute!~ You make Onii-chan want to spoil you more! Tease you more!~" Izuna pulls on the little Uchiha's chubby cheeks playfully yet gently.

"Strwawwwp!" Takuma whines as he giggles.

Izuna snickers as he tugs his little brother's cheeks some more, causing Takuma to giggle some more.

"Oh? What are you two doing without your Onii-chan?" A sudden voice snaps the two Uchiha brothers from their play, causing the two dark-haired boys to turn towards its owner. Madara chuckles at the sight of his little brothers as he approaches them.

"Nii-san!" Izuna greets his older brother.

"Mada-nii!" Takuma echoes as he addresses his oldest brother.

Madara chuckles, ruffling both of their heads roughly yet affectionately. "What are you two doing? Having fun without me?"

"Geez, Nii-san!" Izuna pouts as he pushes his older brother's hand away from his head. Takuma follows suite but is only able to entwine his hand with the oldest sibling's own. "You messed up my hair!"

"Stop complaining," Madara scoffs before he flicks Izuna's forehead. This causes the younger Uchiha to squawk and rub his head. Madara frankly ignores Izuna's reaction to turn to Takuma. "Mother is calling for you, Takuma."

"Kaa-san is?" Takuma tilts his head cutely and blinks his big, obsidian eyes. Then, a large smile spreads on his face as his eyes glow with sparkles. The smaller raven-haired boy wiggles past his brothers and starts dashing back into the house. "I'm going to go see what she wants!"

"Don't run indoors, Takuma!" Madara calls out with a hand raised near his mouth to act as a sort of amplifier. "You'll trip!"

All that can be heard is the pitter-pattering of small feet on the wooden flooring and a rush of giggles before a thud echoes through the traditional house. "I'm okay!" Takuma calls out to reassure his brothers who only sigh at their little brother's antics.

Izuna huffs with a small smile growing on his lips. _Takuma is already thinking of buying me gifts when he should be at the age where all he wants is to receive gifts._ The younger Uchiha chuckles at the thought. He was happy yet bitter at the revelation.

 _Now that I think of it… it's almost_ ** _his_** _birthday as well…_

Izuna turns to his brother. "Hey, Mada-nii." Madara arches an eyebrow in response, signaling the younger to continue. "There's someone whose birthday is coming up, but I don't know what to get them. Do you have any ideas?"

Initially, Madara blinks at the question. Then, his expression contorts to a perplexed expression of confusion. "Wow, there must be a lot of people with birthdays coming up…"

"Huh?" Izuna raises an eyebrow at his brother, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, a frien—someone asked for some advice on what to give his little brother for his birthday and now you're asking me. Plus, your birthday is coming up as well..." Madara rambles on as he explains. The older Uchiha boy returns the conversation back on track. "Anyways, why don't you just get whoever this person is something they would probably like? Like, get something for their hobbies or something they really like."

 _A hobby, huh…_

Izuna is strolling through the small town within the Uchiha estate. _But the only thing that I can think of that that training-maniac would possibly have as a hobby is…_ He stops in front of a vendor selling weapons.

The raven-haired boy picks up a kunai, examining it with his careful eyes. However, he soon returns it and turns away from the vendor.

 _Tobirama already has tons of weapons as it is. Plus, it would be bad if someone realized he had Uchiha clan weapons._

 _But then what the heck should I get him…?_

Deep in thought, Izuna continues to stroll through the streets when something catches his eyes, drawing his attention to a particular stall.

His lips lift into a toothy grin.

Izuna tucks the package into his haori as he carefully travels through the frosty road.

The snowy weather begins subsiding as mid-February approaches the Land of Fire. Now, there is not much snow left from the snowfalls of December and January. However, every morning, the cold weather leaves the trees and grass frosted over with a light, white layer of frost.

Even the river couldn't escape the winter's cold, Izuna discovers as he uses chakra to walk across the river to the other side where Tobirama is training as usual.

"Don't you do anything besides training?" Izuna greets his hardworking friend with a playful complaining tone.

The shorter raven-haired boy saunters over to the silver-haired genius who stops swinging his sword at his presence. "I do, of course." Tobirama sheathes his katana. "I need to rest after all so my muscles and mind can recover from the strains."

"Ohh~!" Izuna hums as he reaches into his haori. He grabs hold of the wrapped package carefully before he pulls it out.

"Happy belated birthday." Tobirama's clear voice interrupts the Uchiha's action as something is promptly pushed into Izuna's hand.

"Oof!" Izuna grunts as he takes hold of what feels like a box. Obsidian eyes are drawn to the neatly wrapped gift, however, they unwillingly tear away from the sight of it to gaze into Tobirama's crimson eyes.

The albino nods, motioning for the raven-haired boy to open the box. "Go on,"

Izuna returns his focus to the wrapped box, his eyes sparkling with curiosity and amusement. He then carefully opens the neatly wrapped gift, hoping to salvage the pretty wrapping paper. Izuna's eyes grow wide as he blinks in bewilderment.

Inside Tobirama's present to him is a painting set, full of brushes and fresh paints.

"You said before that you enjoyed painting, so I thought that you would have enjoyed these," Tobirama explains as Izuna excitedly examines the paint set.

"Thanks, Tobirama!" Izuna grins as he sets the paint set aside. He digs out his own wrapped gift from his haori and presents it to the other boy with a smile. "Happy early birthday."

Tobirama graciously accepts the gift and examines the package. As he carefully unwraps it, Izuna is tense with building excitement.

A small smile breaks Tobirama's usual poker face as he holds a book in his hand. The leather cover is blank with no title and the pages are just as blank when the young genius flips through the book. His crimson eyes soften at the journal before he lifts his focus back on Izuna. "Thank you. I'll use it well."

Izuna grins, "I figured you'd like a more practical gift that you could use! And since you like inventing jutsus and other techniques I thought you could use this to put all your ideas and theories in!"

Tobirama chuckles. "You know me well."

Izuna laughs, "Though who would have thought that we both were thinking of giving each other birthday gifts today!"

Both boys exchange a chuckle.

"Happy birthday."

* * *

 **How was it? Did you enjoy the chapter?**

 **I hadn't actually planned on showing Takuma this much, however, I ended up doing it. What do you guys think of him?**

 **Also, I would love to hear/read about you're reactions and ideas! So please don't feel shy to send me some feedback on how you felt or how you hope things will proceed or what you are looking forward to! XD**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Please leave a review before you leave!~**


	7. Promise in the Trees

**Sorry everyone that this took so long! School is very hectic so I barely have time to write.**

 **In order to finish at least one story, for now, I will be focusing on this fanfic "Kizuna" first before continuing to write the others. As Kizuna is the shortest of all my planned fics, I plan to finish this one first as to lighten the mountain of fics I need to finish! Then, the next one will most likely be Dawn or Perfect Doll which are shorter than Kakashi Chronicles. I may cut out some stuff I've planned in all of these series as I want to finish writing them. However, do not worry, I will make sure the plot does not look rushed!**

 **Also, today is my birthday! I'm so happy to have finished this chapter on my bday~**

 **Anyways, please enjoy this chapter of Kizuna!**

* * *

"Hmm…" With audible grumbling, Izuna pouts in deep thought. After minutes of contemplation and inaudible, except for his concept humming and groaning, debate, Izuna seems to come to a conclusion as he nods to himself. "He's acting weird, definitely."

At the abrupt comment, Tobirama pauses from his sword training and turns his attention to Izuna. "Who is acting weird?"

Ever since the two friends had met up for the day, Izuna's head seems to be more in the clouds than usual. The dark-haired boy was definitely distracted by something, though Tobirama saw no irregularity to it so he ignored the slight concern and directed his attention to his training instead. However, Izuna's racket nonetheless distracted him to some extent and his sliver of curiosity for the other boy's affairs tugged at him.

"My brother! That's who!" Izuna exclaims in a big groan as he flops onto his back. He rolls to his side, feeling the smooth cold rock against his cheek as he grumbles out an explanation. "I mean, sure he has been in a better mood recently, less grumbly and less throwing me into a pond… but—Aggh!" In a fit of frustration, Izuna jumps up, scratching his head crazedly. "He is just acting weird!" He declares, waving his arms up and down. His eyebrows scrunch up as he tries to pull out the right words to describe the whole situation. "Like—uh...oh! The other day—"

 _"I'm taking this" Madara swipes and slides a small round orange into his kimono, taking it from the kitchen with a nonchalant voice._

"—Nii-san doesn't even _like_ citrus!" Izuna squawks, "Yet he took an orange! Don't you think that's weird?!"

Tobirama stares at the dark-haired boy who has been ranting like a lunatic, arching an eyebrow after a few seconds. "How would I know that?" His voice drips in sarcasm.

Ignoring Tobirama's remark, Izuna continues with his wailing. "It's just _so_ weird! And there was another incident too! Like he'll go sneak off and come back covered in scratches! Or he'll go off and come home soaking wet!" He babbles on in a hectic display of dramatics before turning back to his friend. "Don't you think he's being weird?!"

"Once again, I say," Tobirama deadpans, "How would I know?"

This time, actually paying attention, Izuna pauses to mull over the question. "Well…" His dark eyes slide to the side, looking away from the cool albino as he scratches his cheek. "You both have grumpy faces" Izuna lists, "And you're uptight, scary and—!" His words get stuck in his throat as he looks up at his friend. A shudder runs through his spine at the glare he receives.

"Hmph." Tobirama lips purse as he glares off to the side. "If that is all we have similar, I don't see how I would know why he is acting different." His rubies stare off into the distance as a thought comes to mind. "Although… now that you mention older brothers… Anija has been off more than usual as well…"

At the statement, Izuna blinks in surprise. "Yours too?! How so?"

Tobirama gives Izuna a thoughtful look before he decides to elaborate. "Though Anija usually acts off, as of late, he has been… 'sneaking' off." He massages his temple as he remembers Hashirama's last escape attempt.

 _Hashirama tiptoes around the edge of the residence, glancing around furiously as to make sure no other person was around to catch sight of his escape attempt._

 _However, there was someone._

 _"Hashirama-Anija" The bowl-cut-haired boy jumps at the soft and sweet sound of his little brother's voice. "Where are you going?" Behind him, Itama tilts his head innocently, staring at him with his large curious chocolate eyes._

 _Hashirama tenses, almost as stiff as a stone statue. "W-why—if it isn't Itama! I didn't see you there!" He laughs, nervously. "W-where am I going? Haha… hahahaha… hahahaha—" The pitiful boy, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, continues to laugh, loudly. Even Itama, the sweet boy, gave him a small look as he awkwardly joins his brother's laughter when goaded to do so._

"He really isn't subtle—father has been asking questions." Tobirama sighs, shaking his head.

"He…" Izuna stares at his friend, incredulously. "... just _laughed_?"

The albino covers his face, nodding silently.

"Huh…" Izuna blinks, still staring blankly ahead in disbelief. "You and your brother are all surprisingly different, huh…"

All of a sudden, Tobirama tenses and sharply turns around. "Izuna, I feel someone coming from your clan's direction." He quickly shifts his attention to his friend, giving him a serious stare. "We should hide."

Izuna, however, only flutters at the sudden change in atmosphere. "Huh? Wha—"

Abruptly, Tobirama stands up and runs towards the trees, jumping up into it. "No time. Just hide."

Izuna glances at his friend for a moment, before recovering. "Wait for me!" He cries out as he follows after his friend.

Getting comfortable up in the tree, both boys exchange a nod before they suppress their chakra as to not let whoever was coming to sense them. Just as they did this, two things jump out of the woods, one on each side.

On one side, a brunette with a bowl-haircut enters the scene waving his hand up toward the other side. "Yo!"

On the other side, a dark-haired boy with messy hair scoffs at the other boy. "Oh—it's you." He cautiously glares at the surroundings. "I thought I felt someone else."

At those words, both Tobirama and Izuna slightly jolt, knowing full well who the dark-haired boy had sensed. The silver-haired boy bites his lip, nibbling on it in anxiety as he understood who had appeared. Izuna, on the other hand, recognized the second voice right away and so, curiously, he looks over to see who was on the other side and his dark eyes widen.

"Someone else? Like who?" Hashirama throws his hands behind his head as he questions his friend.

"I'm not that good at sensing…" Madara's eyebrows scrunch together as he tries to recall what he had sensed earlier. "All I know is that it was someone else!" Annoyed, he shouts at his friend.

"Hmm…" Hashirama hums, laxly. "Well, then…" A smirk spreads across his lips. "... shall we start?" The brunette jumps into a battle stance as he motions for the other boy to come at him.

Madara grins in return and mirrors Hashirama's stance.

The wind blows between the two boys as they stare at one another in absolute silence. In hiding, their respective younger brothers lay in wait, watching carefully and stealthily at the scenes to unfold. The trees rustle in the wind, their branches swaying as in audience for the show to come. Their leaves dance in the air, like confetti being popped in celebration. Then, as a single leaf kisses the calm river, creating ripples, the air stirs and the two boys take off. Blows connect with one another, furiously and nimbly, as two pairs of small hands and feet clash against each other.

Madara and Hashirama sparred.

Their younger brothers, Izuna and Tobirama, watch on as the two boys continuously met each other with attacks and jutsus until the two older boys collapse on the floor. They pant heavily, exhausted from their earlier spar. Yet, at the same time, there is a look of content in their eyes.

"A draw… again…" Hashirama breathes out. His stomach rises and falls as he gasps for air.

Madara isn't doing much better. He too continues to breathe heavily before releasing a groan. "Ugh… I will beat you next time. We won't… always be on equal footing."

"Yeah, because I'll be the one on top!" Hashirama throws his fist in the air with a cheeky grin as he pants out his declaration. However, he quickly loses strength and lets his arm fall back onto the stone floor. "I need a break!"

Madara chuckles and gets up. "You go do that. I'm going to go take a piss." The dark-haired boy then walks away from the brunette, not noticing his friend's next actions.

A sinister smirk spreads across Hashirama's face and a mischievous sparkle glimmers in his eyes as he sits up to watch his friend walk away.

The oblivious Madara carries on to relieve himself, breathing out a sigh. That is until he feels a presence behind him. He jolts out a grunt and his nerves cause him to reflexively stop the task at hand.

"You really can't, eh…?" Hashirama murmurs from behind Madara in disbelief.

In a fury, Madara twirls around and screams at his friend. "I said stop standing behind me!"

Hashirama's eyes squint into crescents as he holds his hand up to try to cover up his laughter, though he fails. "I found your weakness…!"

Meanwhile, up in the trees, Izuna facepalms in silence as he murmurs. "Nii-san… how lame…"

Tobirama's lip twitches up into a small smirk, though he quickly hides it behind his hand and calms his facial features. "Well, he is _your_ brother after all."

"And what's that supposed to mean." Izuna glares at his friend.

Tobirama chooses to ignore his friend's grumbling, leaving the dark-haired boy in suspense.

A little while after Madara chewed out Hashirama over his earlier stunt and had finally relieved himself, the two boys meet up before a large, steep cliff. Hashirama announces with glee, "Today, I'm challenging you to cliff-climbing!" He points to his friend in challenge.

However, the dark-haired boy, still upset over the earlier episode, turns his head away from the brunette, ignoring his earlier challenge. Promptly, the brunette boy falls to the dirt floor, hanging his head in depression.

At Hashirama's reaction, Madara's brow twitches and he snaps. "Quit getting depressed all the time!" He shouts at the depressed boy in irritation. "That's what your weakness is!"

"Well… how about if…" A dejected voice worms out of Hashirama's throat. "I'm just psyching you out…" Before Madara can react, Hashirama abruptly jumps up and dashes towards the cliff, laughing loudly. "—before cliff-climbing!"

"Huh?!" Hollers Madara. Clicking his tongue, the dark-haired boy chases after the brunette while screaming. "You bastard!"

"Ahahaha!" Hashirama laughs out loud in excitement. "I'm going first!"

"You were just pretending to be depressed—" Madara grumbles before shouting as he dashes side-to-side with Hashirama. "—huh?!"

Despite Hashirama's initial lead, Madara still manages to catch up; however, the two end up being at each other's necks, unable to pass the other. That is, until Hashirama pushes off one last jump, managing to pass Madara only slightly to reach the top of the cliff. In triumph, Hashirama pants out, "It's my… win…!" He pushes his thumb at his chest with a wide grin smacked on his face.

"That's to be expected…" Madara, who is close behind Hashirama, reaches the top as well, collapsing on the stone ground as he grumbles. "You started before me!"

"Hahaha!" Hashirama's laugh echoes through the air. "I'd win either way!"

"Hmph!" Madara snorts. "You wouldn't stand a chance if I used the power in my eyes!"

"You sound really proud of your eyes."

Madara smirks with pride as he sits up. "Well, of course! I have the Sha—" Despite how proud he looks, he abruptly cuts his speech off, smacking his lips shut. Averting his eyes away from his friend and staring down at the valley below, Madara holds an almost sad look in his dark eyes.

At his friend's strange new mood, Hashirama blinks and stares at the other boy for a long moment before asking. "What's the matter?"

Madara only sighs and shakes his head. "No… never mind. It doesn't matter." He narrows his eyes, "I guess it's not all that great…"

Hashirama squints at his friend in skepticism before tilting his head in concern. "What do you mean?"

Madara stares out at the valley, in a daze. His lips form a thin line as he holds a sense of "emptiness" within his usually lively eyes. "My brothers died… even with these eyes…"

Hashirama's eyes widen in shock and he stares at Madara, dumbfounded. He gulps at seeing the confident boy's hidden pain and squirms awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. He too has siblings, siblings who have already died due to the great war and siblings who have yet to die—brothers he has sworn to protect. Just the thought of one of his brother's deaths would make Hashirama's chest tighten and his breath to shorten. Madara was just like him, having lost his brothers. "So… you don't have any more siblings…?" Almost afraid, Hashirama manages to whisper out the question.

"No—I have two younger brothers left…" Madara reassures his friend as his dark eyes harden in determination. "—and no matter what, I will protect both of them…!" He glares at the valley below as he claws at the gravel beneath his hand.

Hashirama too averts his gaze towards the valley below. _If only there was really a way to stop this war… then everyone would be happy… Madara… his brothers… and Itama and Tobirama… all of them could stay safe._ His chocolate eyes watch the forest below before he closes his eyes, envisioning his dream of a place for them to live peacefully. "...if only we could all live in peace…" He murmurs, unconsciously.

"What was that?" Madara, hearing the low voice of his friend, inquires.

Hashirama blinks out of his daze, realizing his friend had heard his accidental statement. He panics at first, unsure of what to do—only to stop. Revelation strikes Hashirama that this is the perfect time to release his bottled up feelings; to share his dreams with someone else. "I—" The brunette begins to explain his dreams: of a peaceful village where he and his brothers could live in along with lots of different clans, coming together in an alliance where everyone can get along, without war and the sadness of losing loved ones. "—and then make it so kids won't have to kill each other!" With a large grin, Hashirama continues to wave his hands animatedly. "We'll create a school where kids can train and grow stronger!" Somewhere along the way, Hashirama's "I" had become "we" as if referring to himself and Madara. "Assign missions that fit an individual's abilities and strengths—"

"That doesn't sound too bad…" Madara interrupts with a smile. He had listened to his friend's dream, imagined it in his own mind. He couldn't help but smile at it; the vision of his brothers living safely in peace, of hanging out with Hashirama more in the open, of making a family in such an alliance known as a "village".

"Then it's decided!" Hashirama declares as he pushes himself onto his feet.

"Yeah…!" Madara to jumps onto his feet as he exchanges a grin which Hashirama, who beams back.

Meanwhile, in the trees below the two excitable boys, their younger brothers eavesdrop on their conversation. Tobirama was no stranger to his older brother's dream of the allied village, in fact he was the one who instigated it during Kawarama's funeral. However, he couldn't help but silently chortle. "Those idiots."

"They think they're the only ones with big plans…!" Izuna joins Tobirama's display of exasperation. He raises an eyebrow as he pokes at his albino friend. "Hey, hey—do you think they've been meeting up like this for a while now?" Without even getting a confirmation, the dark-haired boy continues. "Keeping secrets and acting all suspicious like a bunch of idiots." He pouts and complains, hushedly. "They think they can copy us!"

Tobirama only nods in response, agreeing with his friend silently as he shakes his head in exasperation.

"Well…" Izuna exhales as he changes the mood, forcibly, to a more serene one. "—a village would be nice… wouldn't it…" He turns to Tobirama, giving him a small smile. "Don't you think?"

Tobirama stares at his friend with his ruby eyes for a moment before returning the small smile. "Yeah… that would be nice."

Izuna's quiet smile shifts into a mischievous smirk. "Then, it's a village we will get!"

"Our idiot brothers will never get anywhere at this rate." Tobirama sighs as he looks up the cliff at the two figures on the ledge. He then shifts to Izuna, flashing him a smirk as he holds up a fist towards his friend. "Let's make a village, Izuna."

Izuna presses his own fist against Tobirama's. "You can count on me, Tobirama!"

* * *

 **Again, I would like to apologize for the long wait!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Please tell me your reactions and such! They really help motivate me to write!**

 **Thank you again for waiting so long.**

 **Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave~**


	8. Resolve for the Dreams

**Thank you for your patience! Here is a rather depressing chapter, unfortunately.**

 **Also, sorry I can't upload as quickly as I used to. I'm about to transfer to another college so I'm trying to figure out all that mess.**

 **Anyways, enough about me, here is the next chapter!**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

It was like a dream at first—

—the pledge—

—the goal—

—the year full of warm days filled with laughter—

— _all of it._

 _But it was really a_ _ **nightmare**_ _._

That is what Izuna thought on that fateful day.

He should have seen the signs when they first appeared—

Takuma had noted that before he went to sleep, he had seen a white bird perched on his window. Though a curious spirit, Izuna's little brother's attention span usually doesn't last for long. So, it was quite unusual for the young boy to make note of the bird that morning. He had paid particular attention to it, exclaiming on its almost ethereal, pure white glow as it stared at him from the window the evening before.

That was the first sign.

Then, a piece of meat had fallen from Izuna's mouth during lunch. Madara had a good laugh at his little brother's clumsiness, but, beyond that, there was an unsettling rumble in Izuna's stomach.

That was the second sign.

That day, the three brothers would be taking on a mission altogether. When they were about to depart, Madara pauses by the gates and stares into the yard.

Consequently, Izuna pauses as well, turning to his older brother. "What's wrong, Nii-san?"

"The peach tree…" Madara frowns as he mutters out.

Izuna gives his brother a questioning look before he too turns his attention to the tree, only to blink at the sight of the pretty blossoms. "Huh? It's blooming?" It was still winter, though.

There was the third sign.

—Perhaps, this is some sort of punishment for ignoring those signs.

"Takuma! No! Takuma!" Izuna wails and screams until his throat is hoarse. He clings to the lifeless small body.

 _Ahh—it's cold._

Madara looms over his two brothers. His red eyes filled with deep grief as he clenches his fist. He was sticky from blood—though it was not his own.

The pinwheel spins.

Tobirama finds Izuna at the river again, like he did that rainy summer day two years ago. Izuna isn't a loud crier, despite how loud he can be usually when he complains and laughs all the time. That characteristic of his friend made Tobirama's heart tighten, somberly.

Without a word, Tobirama wraps an arm around his friend and drags his face into his shoulder. Crimson eyes gaze blankly at the carefree river as it continued to flow beyond them, never stopping for the grief of those around it. Filtering out the constant soft patter of the river, Tobirama listens to Izuna's broken sobs as his shoulder feels a pinch of coldness with a contrasting patch of warmth. He gives his friend time.

Thus, the two sit there on a cold winter day by the riverside in a long silence—

"Hey, Tobirama…"

—until it is broken.

"Hnn." Tobirama urges Izuna to continue with a small grunt.

"I don't want to lose anyone anymore."

Izuna manages to choke out those words as he clenches Tobirama's shirt.

"Me neither."

Tobirama agrees, in turn.

After that day, Izuna has become more conscious of the signs.

Superstition exists for a reason.

People can put off warnings as old wives tales or folklore, but, they aren't something to push off. There is a reason that these stories are passed on, after all.

That's why Izuna is more cautious on nights of a new moon, because of the darkness. Sometimes, Izuna feels that the darkness almost beckons him towards death. He felt like that today as well.

The dark-haired boy, with red eyes shining in the darkness, scurries through the forest as to quickly return to the safety of his home. He had just completed a mission—only an assassination. He hadn't yet revealed his Sharingan—let alone his Mangekyou Sharingan—to his father or even his brother. So he hasn't been forced out into the front lines of the war, thankfully, nor does he need to face Tobirama on that sort of field yet. In fact, he doesn't ever want to if he can help it.

Thanks to that albino, Izuna has had proficient practice in how to wield the Sharingan. Now, with his Sharingan, Izuna could rival Tobirama's own natural chakra sensing abilities. For example, he could see a group of familiar chakra signatures belonging to his own clansmen as they approach another familiar chakra signature, which turquoise color reminds him of Tobirama's own blue chakra. It was that certain blue-green color that wasn't cold despite being a cool color—just like Itama's chakra. It takes seconds before the lines connect.

 _It is Itama!_

The revelation hits Izuna hard enough to make him whip around and chase after those signatures. He knows what happens to young Senju when a pack of Uchiha is around—and, with the usually dubious face of a "young Senju" being replaced by the sweet and adorable Itama, Izuna's stomach flips rapidly in pure disgust.

Hastily, Izuna rushes towards the younger boy, only acting with pure raging instinct. His scarlet eyes swarm around the area until it spots that familiar turquoise chakra and then the familiar red plated armor. Once spotting it, he glances to the side, noting the distance between him and the Uchiha hunting party before swooping down, grabbing the smaller boy by the stomach, and disappearing through the trees again.

"L-let go..!" The smaller boy struggles against him in confusion and fear; however, Izuna doesn't let that deter him as he continues forward, not stopping. He keeps a constant check of the group behind him with his Sharingan, making sure to throw them off his tail. This, unfortunately, takes a long while and distance—and Itama, who is dripping in great fear, has more than once struck Izuna with enough force to make him want to falter. If his mouth was open, he would have surely bit his tongue.

"Quiet… down…!" Izuna hisses in pain after he is struck again by the flailing Itama.

With the recognition of the owner of the voice, Itama's chocolate eyes widen in shock and he instantly stops resisting Izuna. Instead, he clings to the older boy, his small hands fisting Izuna's shirt.

After the two manage to escape, Izuna stops by the river—the border between the Uchiha and Senju. Now, without the threat of pursuers on their backs, the two boys collapse by the river, with Izuna gasping with breath a bit from all of his running. Quickly, Itama moves to his side, with brown eyes full of concern and guilt. "I… I'm sorry…" He apologizes as Izuna crawls over to the river and cups some water to drink.

After quenching his dry throat, Izuna turns towards the younger boy giving him a smile. Itama holds a regretful expression with large eyes nearly in tears. "Hey, now…" Izuna softly reaches up to Itama's face, hand catching the small boy's tears. "There's no need to cry." He pats the half white, half brown hair of Itama, gently. He couldn't stand the other boy's tears—it felt wrong. "Don't your brothers tell you what to say when someone helps you out?"

Itama looks up at the dark-haired boy, lost for words. His tears stop as he remembers his two older brothers: Hashirama and Tobirama, and how he can return to them. The thought makes him smile as he replies. "Thank you, Izuna-san."

Izuna's Sharingan is still active when he catches the beautiful smile full of relief and joy. He couldn't help but mirror it. "No problem, Itama-chan." He lets out a small laugh. "You know that Tobirama would cry his poor lonely heart out if you had died…" At that comment, his bright grin drops to a small, reflective smile. "... and I don't want a wet shoulder..."

 _...and I don't want to lose another precious person in my life._

"Thank you." The next day, at the river, Tobirama instantly greets Izuna with this.

At that phrase, Izuna takes a moment to process it, but once he does, he can't shake the smile which wiggles up his lips. With a big goofy grin, Izuna lightly punches Tobirama's shoulder. "No problem!"

A small smile slips on Tobirama's lips as he puts his hand on Izuna's, which rubs his shoulder.

The light-hearted atmosphere only lingers for a moment until that smile reverts back to Tobirama's usual poker face. "With that out of the way…" The albino's voice lowers, noticeably, and Izuna feels a chill under his skin. "... I heard from Itama… that I'd _cry my poor lonely heart out_ …?"

Cold sweat drips down Izuna's neck as he faces a furious set of naturally crimson eyes. "Uhh—ahh—hey! Tobirama, listen! It wasn't intentional—just a slip of the tongue—!"

A strangled scream echoes through the forest, scaring a flock of birds nearby to flee through the sky before a loud splash follows.

"Oww, oww… oww…" Izuna pouts as he crawls out of the river. He squeezes his kimono and pants which are soaked as he groans at the pain from the sudden impact the water had on his body. "Geez… you and Nii-san are really alike…"

"Hmm…" Tobirama responds with a skeptical hum but doesn't voice his complaints. Instead, he brushes the subject away, focusing on something more pressing. "I…" Tobirama is stagnant for a couple of seconds as if to collect his thoughts. Izuna glances over at his friend's face and is surprised by the dread in the crimson eyes he is so used to seeing full of sarcasm or exasperation in.

"Tobirama…?" Worried, Izuna reaches out to his albino friend. However, before he is able to place a reassuring hand onto Tobirama's shoulder, he continues.

"If you have the chance to revive your brothers…" Tobirama's voice quivers as the words slip from his lips, almost hoarse like he was parched. "… would you do it…?"

 _Reviving… my brothers…?_

Izuna's mind races at the thought.

Of course, he wants to see his brothers again. They are his brothers, after all. He loves them more than the world. He would give almost anything to see them again—

—However, what could this world offer them?

Right now, there is only strife. Wars, grief, sadness, and death—all muddled up into some sort of abstract painting labeled "Life".

He couldn't do that.

He couldn't bring them back to _this_.

It wouldn't be right.

 _But, I want to see them._

Izuna looks at Tobirama.

The other boy is clearly disturbed about something. What that is though, Izuna could not even guess. However… if his answer could help his friend in any way. Then, he would have to answer truthfully.

"I…" Izuna starts. His hand falls to his side. "I wouldn't…"

Tobirama's breath hitches.

"...at least, not _yet_ —not _now_." Izuna continues, "Not with the world like this…" He offers Tobirama a small smile. "... but maybe… after we build the village… when our world would be safer—for them."

Izuna stares at Tobirama with his obsidian eyes, and Tobirama stares back with his crimson ones. They stand there like that in silence for a while, as if communicating with only their eyes—a reassurance and a promise.

Tobirama had managed it—he had formulated the jutsu that could grant his wish.

Edo Tensei—Impure World Reincarnation—would revive his precious little brother, Kawarama.

The only drawback was the need for DNA and a sacrifice.

However, wouldn't that be a small price for what it could give back?

Tobirama stood on the line, unsure of what to do with his knowledge.

Tobirama didn't want to admit it—but, he was _afraid_.

 _Of what, though—he didn't want to admit._

In his disturbance, Tobirama had slipped his concerns to Izuna, confiding his friend.

 _He must understand… this feeling._

Tobirama convinces himself.

However, Izuna's answer was truly unlike his own line of thought. The other boy had brought up the perspective of how bringing those they love back would be good, but not in _this_ world.

"Plus, they are probably in a better place than here, now." He flashes his bright grin that's just like sunlight peeking out from behind a cloud.

With those words, Tobirama understood what he must do.

Tobirama misses Kawarama.

Every day, at the dining table, there is the empty seat, which used to be filled with laughter and a bit of food flinging and a young, mischievous boy that had the most devious grin.

Every day, when he passes by their old shared bedroom, where all four of the Senju brothers would cuddle together at night. He would complain about Hashirama's snoring before snoring himself and kicking Tobirama in the side.

Every day, when there was only three and not four, Tobirama's crimson eyes would search for the fourth—only to never find him—never again.

Tobirama understands what he must do.

Once he returns home, the albino boy takes the scrolls, filled with numerous letters and symbols and diagrams, and rolled them back up, before sealing them away, twice for good measure, and locks them away in a box, only to place another seal on that box. He, then, takes his box and hides it away, under his desk.

There are another time and place to unseal that box, but that was not now nor here.

* * *

 **Don't hate me, but, I hope you all cried to this chapter at some point. That was my goal, in a sense.**

 **I listened to a bunch of sad music while writing this, but when I, myself, read it, I don't feel as many emotions.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a comment and kudos before you leave~**


	9. Change Over Time

**Sorry, it took so long to update this!**

 **I have been very busy as of late with both school and work. I barely have time to write much, so now I'm trying to edit all of my stories' timelines I've created to shorten their chapter spans.**

 **For this story, I will be cutting this timeline and ending it where it can be ended with fulfillment. However, I may continue this storyline by adding one-shots and other series stories to continue with what I originally had planned. Thus, now there will only be about 3-4 more chapters after this one. I hope you all will enjoy the rest of this story!**

 **Now, here is the chapter! Please enjoy!~**

* * *

The two boys' semblance of "peace" continues for another year.

That is until that fateful Summer.

The heat makes the air waver as the sun shoots rays of light onto the world. The cicadas chirp boisterously on the trees near the river. **Clink! Clank! Clink!** The sound of metal biting metal resounds over the water surface as two young boys meet each other at the center of the river. Dark eyes and crimson eyes glare sharply and coldly as the two boys slide off the impact and onto the river.

Behind each boy, their older brothers stand in shock and bewilderment alongside their disapproving fathers.

 _They had been caught—_

Pivoting off their nondominant foot, both younger boys clash at the center of the river. **Clink!** Their katanas scratch against one another as both sides push for dominance.

 _—Hashirama and Madara, that is._

Both fathers move—each taking aim at the opposite's younger child. The two friends don't look away from another, communicating with their eyes silently in cover.

 _"We'll fake this fight and push it towards a retreat."_ Crimson eyes convey.

Obsidian eyes smirk back. _"Roger."_

The pair don't notice the weapons aimed at them—a katana at Izuna and a kunai at Tobirama. However, both deadly weapons don't meet their respective targets. **Clang!** Rocks, thrown by both boys' older brothers, deter the weapons aimed at their friend's little brother—protecting the younger boys from the hidden attack.

Both Tobirama and Izuna's eyes widen as they read the words on the rocks.

"Trap—Scram"

"Run"

Silently, both younger brothers fall back behind their older brothers who have moved to the river center. Each side glares at the other—Uchiha to Senju; Senju to Uchiha. Tension is thick in the air.

The first to break the silence is the Uchida side, when Tajima questions his son, "How is it, Madara?" The Uchiha head narrows his eyes in focus at the trio on the other side of the river. "Can we take them on?"

The three Senjus give off an intimidating air—well, mostly Butsuma and Tobirama were, though Hashirama exudes a rather intimidating aura with his stare and furrowed brow. Madara meets this stare straight on with his own piercing look. He didn't want to fight Hashirama—his first real friend to share his dream of peace. However, in front of his family, those he needs to protect—in front of Izuna, who deserves the world—he can't choose to follow such a selfish wish.

Izuna watches his older brother carefully before his eyes shift over to Tobirama, who is also cautiously watching Madara. Tobirama could tell under that impassive focused expression of Madara's, there was great conflict. He could understand when he put it into perspective. Having to choose between your family or your best friend and dreams was a harsh choice. Tobirama wishes to never have to choose between them.

In the end, Madara chose neither. "No…" The raven-haired boy exhales, "Hashirama is stronger than me. If we fight, we'll lose."

"There's a kid stronger than you, nii-san?" Izuna feigns surprise, his shoulders loosening as he gives his brother a wide-eyed look. He felt relieved that his older brother had managed to defer the situation, perhaps a bit too relieved. Tobirama gives him a sharp glare which causes Izuna to tense back up.

"I see," Tajima speaks, carefully as he sharply assesses the opposing Senjus. "Quite impressive…" He mutters before turning around, "Let's retreat!" Izuna follows his father, not without taking one last glance at his friend then at his friend's brother and then his own brother.

Compared to Izuna, Madara is a bit slower. Instead, he lingers for a bit before reluctantly twirling away from his friend. However, he doesn't move forward at first, rather he stands there for a long tense moment. Then, his lips part. "Hey, Hashirama…"

"What is it?" Hashirama asks in response. His chocolate eyes are stuck on his best friend, not moving a single bit from the boy even when Madara won't turn around to face him.

"Maybe it just isn't possible for us…" Hashirama's breath hitches in his throat as he hears the cold, pitiful words leave Madara's mouth. The dark-haired boy finally turns his head to look at the choppy-haired brunette, but unlike usual his dark eyes are distant and not filled with the warmth and camaraderie Hashirama had been accustomed to. "It may have been brief, but it was fun, Hashirama…" The two of them stay like that, staring at one another, for what feels like a long while, but can only be a couple of seconds at most. However, the delay is evident; it makes Izuna turn to glance at his brother in wonder and Tobirama to watch cautiously from Hashirama's side. Despite the audience, Madara's attention is only focused on his friend—old friend.

"So long." The words come out cold and detached, so much so that Hashirama flinches at the tone. Forcing himself to ignore the pain in his chest, Madara turns away from Hashirama.

 _There's no turning back now._

"Our next meeting will likely be at the battlefield." Madara states like a goodbye as he walks onward. Izuna gives one last glance, his obsidian eyes meeting with Tobirama's ruby ones before he too turns away—but with a different meaning from his older brother's. Regardless, with that, the Uchihas leave the riverside and the Senjus behind.

On the way back to the Senju compound, Hashirama holds a frustrated expression as he follows behind Butsuma. Meanwhile, Tobirama holds an impassive face; his usual cool stoic attitude ever-present. In the albino's head, however, he hears the cheeky voice of his friend—best friend.

 _"Let's meet after this affair has settled down."_

 _Don't order me around._

It takes a long while before things have settled down. Both clans are on the edge still, fighting the other to the death. Within both clans, their respective clan heirs were faring worse. Hashirama continues to throw a rebellious tantrum fit. He refuses to fight on frontlines unless he is forcefully thrown out there. On the other hand, Madara had grown more silent and aloof. Though he still embarks on missions and frontline battles, the Uchida heir will mostly seclude himself away from everyone else, even Izuna isn't able to get him out of his shell for weeks. Like so, several months pass before Tobirama and Izuna are able to reunite by the river.

By the time of the two young boys' next meeting, the green leaves have long withered and fallen from their perches white snow pile around the surrounding area. The river is freezing cold, much too chilly to touch without freezing over.

As usual, the first to arrive is Tobirama. The albino sits on a large rock, his head tilted back as he gazes into the gray, cloudy sky. Izuna, who happens to head toward the river in order to escape the stifling air of the Uchiha compound, lights up when he spotted the familiar silver head. A genuine smile spreads across his face before he quickly jumps to Tobirama's side, sliding to sit beside him. "Yo." Flashing a grin, he cocks his head to look at Tobirama.

Tobirama glances at Izuna with his crimson eyes and lingers for a moment before tilting his head back down. A small smirk overtakes his face as a soft chuckle escapes him.

Though things have changed, not everything has. A pair of star-crossed friends were forced apart; their path walking alongside each other is seemingly shattered. Another pair of star-crossed friends still linger, their bond as strong as ever; they watch the other pair, picking up the broken pieces. They work together to fix it.

Repairing something can take a long time. It can take days, weeks, months— _years_.

In this case, years is the most accurate description.

A decade passes with a sense of regularity—the Senju and Uchiha are in constant war, being lead by their respective clan heads until their clan heirs take over along the years, fighting to rule the country.

The first to pass is Butsuma, due to a horrid combination of an injury and a long-term disease that has been hacking away at his life. The Senju clan hold an honorable funeral for the clan head and then Hashirama stepped up to lead the clan as the next head. Tobirama follows him, one step behind his older brother, acting as his advisor. The albino does so while sparing his younger brother from the responsibilities and pain of the war. During Butsuma's funeral, neither of the older brothers show much emotion. While Itama had wept silent tears, Hashirama kept a grim expression and Tobirama kept an impassive one.

With that same expression, Tobirama reports his father's death to Izuna, the day after at the river. "Butsuma is dead." He refers to his father by his name, rather than with an attached name such as "father" or "dad".

Izuna silently accepts the statement, staring at his friend. His lips part as if to start, only to close them. His obsidian eyes glaze over with a tinge of sadness and mostly sympathy as he reaches over to his friend. He pats Tobirama's shoulder with a small understanding smile and nod.

Tobirama doesn't brush aside his friend's sympathy, instead, he almost leans into it. His scarlet eyes fall to the floor, but they are dazed in thought rather than truly focusing on the ground below. His eyelids curtain over his eyes.

The two friends stand there in compassionate silence.

The next to fall is Tajima. During a certain fateful battle, Tajima had gained a fatal injury that pushed the old man toward his death. That day, after the Uchiha head had sustained his terrible wound, Madara had ordered a retreat, but they were unable to make it in time and Tajima had passed as soon as they had returned to their territory.

Madara takes up the position as clan head as soon as the news spreads across the clan and the funeral only concretes this. Izuna supports him as much as he can, but Madara tends to keep everything to himself, not sharing his responsibilities even with Izuna. The younger Uchiha can only watch sadly as his older brother works himself to the bone. No matter what he tries, his brother won't confide in him. Izuna worries over him. He can tell that the stress of leading the clan and the internal conflict of wanting to hold onto his childhood dreams is wearing Madara down.

"Say, Tobirama…" Izuna starts one windy day by the river. "How much longer do we have to wait?" The raven-haired boy clenches his fist as his brows furrow in frustration. "Isn't there some way we can achieve our dreams sooner?"

Tobirama turns to look at his friend with a brief look of surprise. It was only a flinch, something so quick and is swiftly washed away with a frown. "It's improbable." The albino answers, without hesitation.

At those words, Izuna's eyes grow wide and he feels a pang of pain in his chest. His clenched fist trembles with the frustrated fury he has been holding in this whole time. He almost wished to just surrender. Everything was so exhausting.

However, before Izuna could share this thought, Tobirama continues. "But—" He pauses for a moment, letting the word linger on his tongue. "—It isn't impossible."

A soft gasp escapes Izuna as he hastily turns to his friend. His body loosens with confusion and bewilderment at Tobirama's words. "Really?!" His excitement is evident with how quickly he jumps onto those words.

Tobirama nods, "We will need an opportunity," He elaborates while in contemplation.

The albino had thought about the subject for a long while now. It wasn't as if both sides didn't wish for peace. It was just that old tradition, hurt pride, and a continuous cycle of pain and revenge have been set into place. However, the largest problem is that it would be very difficult to disrupt this twisted balance that has already been formed in their world. They would need something huge and disrupting that would force both clans together towards a new age.

Tobirama concludes, "Some sort of uncontrollable event..." He whispers the thought. "...that would unite us all…"

Izuna doesn't reply, but he hears those words—and, they repeat in his mind even when he is home, in his own bed watching the moon outside his window.

 _Some sort of uncontrollable event that would unite us all…_

 _...if only such a thing could occur._

* * *

 **I want to thank all of those who continue to encourage me to continue my stories. I hope to finish every story I have started (major stories not drabble-like ones at least). Your words have encouraged me to continue to persevere, so thank you very much!**

 **This is the draft schedule I have in mind for my story focuses (which ones I will be aiming to finish first):**

 **1\. Kizuna**

 **2\. Dawn**

 **3\. Kakashi Chronicles: Colliding Worlds**

 **4\. Fate/Another Night**

 **As you see, I have not included Perfect Doll or Kakashi Chronicles. I do intend to complete them, but as both of their storylines are quite drastically long, it will take me a while to rework them to be more plot-focused. I will try to write them in between my other works as well, so do not worry, they will be continued.**

 **I will give a formal announcement on my next chapter update for both stories on what I plan to do with them in the future. As for my other non-Naruto stories, I will most likely be planning on rewriting/working most of them.**

 **Thank you for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Please leave a review before you leave~**


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